


Fushimi Saruhiko's Mourning Process

by MamaKusanagi



Series: How to Get It All [2]
Category: K (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Demons, Gen, Graphic Descriptions of blood, Hellhounds, Hunters, Local Man Takes One Look at Homeless Brat and Says "I must adopt", Right?, Supernatural AU - Freeform, The Story, anyway, i can't title shit, i guess you could call it that, if you ever read my story and wondered how Munakata and Fushimi met in this AU, since i'm making how Yata and Fushimi met i might as well make this, some minor gore, this is it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-11-02 18:22:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 32,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20813594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MamaKusanagi/pseuds/MamaKusanagi
Summary: When his father was 'murdered', Fushimi knew the police wouldn't be able to find the real killer, considering the fact that the killer was a hellhound that civilians had no idea existed, and found himself hunting it down despite telling himself he had no sort of feelings whatsoever about it happening in the first place. His plans are ruined, however, by the constant interference of an organization he's never heard of with a ridiculously long name and a 'private investigator' that seemed to always be a step ahead of him, and couldn't side-step them like he normally could with the regular police.Obviously, breaking and entering to get his father's file was the next logical step.Obviously, it all goes horribly wrong for him.(A prequel to my Supernatural/K crossover, "How to Get It All", previously "The Symbol of Flames", that explains the chain of events of how Fushimi gets adopted and hired by Munakata. You don't have to read it to understand, but it would help.)





	Fushimi Saruhiko's Mourning Process

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Sorry it's been a while, but you all know how life goes. Have faith, though, because I'm still writing! I'm actually working on the next chapter for HtGIA as you're reading this, it's just.. long. The chapters will be very long from here on out, so. Just a warning.
> 
> Anyway, I've had this idea for a while, and it finally gnawed away at me until I had to write it, and once I started writing it, I just.. kept going? It was weird. Probably won't happen again.
> 
> If you haven't read my other story, then don't worry. It's just if creatures from Supernatural existed instead of the Slate and Scepter 4 was a government agency that hunted those beings. That's.. yep, that's it.
> 
> Hope you like it!

Fushimi had been waiting for this day for a long, long time.

The room was cold. It had been the first thing he'd noticed when he entered, and clutched his hoodie tighter to his small form as a result; he could almost feel the cold through his shoes, thin as they were. White walls surrounded him, only adding to the frigid feeling the room exuded, and the various metal tables and tools didn't help, either. It even _smelled_ cold, the air stale but somehow crisply fresh with that stupid medicine scent invading the spacious room, and it burned his nostrils whenever he had to breath in. It was like a hospital room, but very different.

A key difference being his dead father lying on one of the metal examination tables, covered completely with a thin white sheet. His face wasn't showing yet, but Fushimi already knew that it was him.

He'd been on his laptop at a coffee shop when the police had approached him. He didn't much care for them, and had done his best to ignore their existence, but when they informed him of his father's passing and how he was needed to come identify the body, he couldn't gather up his meager belongings fast enough.

He supposed he should act a bit more... Well. Like he was a son in mourning, but had trouble mustering up the foreign feeling and gave up halfway through the police ride to the hospital.

And now here he finally was, standing stock still by a dead body in one of the coldest rooms he'd ever been in in his life, and listening to the empty placations of the medical examiner to his left. He didn't register her words, simply staring down at the sheet slightly stained red by the torso, and reached out to pull the sheet down.

A hand grabbed his wrist, and his eyes shot up to the woman with a glare, but she just looked at him with a mixture of something he couldn't recognize and pity.

It was all so sickening.

"You don't have to do that, sweetie," she said softly, and Fushimi held back a click of his tongue. "I can do it if you would rather not..."

When she trailed off, waiting for his reply that he wasn't going to give her, he yanked his hand away and impatiently lifted the sheet.

He'd always been compared to his father, for as long as he could remember. Strangers complimenting them as they passed by in the street, colleagues of his father that they occasionally worked with, and the rare times they were around his stiff family it seemed all they were able to talk about. The only difference was their eyes, but with Fushimi Niki's permanently shut, it was like it didn't even matter.

He didn't know how long he'd been staring, but it was apparently long enough for the woman beside him to start fidgeting uncomfortably. He tore his eyes away from his father's face, and his mind away from the past to the present, realizing he had to say something eventually (no matter how much he wanted to savor the moment).

"It's him."

The woman's expression softened once again, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I know it's hard to process, but it will be-"

"How?" he interrupted impatiently, shaking her hand off his shoulder. He had no use for this woman's fake concern, she didn't even know him or their situation, so what good was her word? The only thing he was here for was her professional opinion.

"Excuse me?" she asked, though with less venom than Fushimi expected. She just sounded caught off guard.

"How did he die?" he elaborated, with no more emotion than he'd used the entire time he'd been there.

She took a moment to blink, then seemed to compose herself enough to explain. "Well, it's rather odd, really. We won't know until we do a full autopsy, but I believe he's been... attacked by some sort of wild animal?"

Fushimi frowned.

He reached out to lower the sheet again, ignoring when the woman told him that it was graphic and he didn't want to see something like that. He snorted. _'Don't assume shit about me,'_ he thought in the back of his mind, but all neurons stopped firing when he saw his father's bloodstained, shredded skin, and dropped the sheet just above his bellybutton.

Niki's torso looked like a rather messy plate of spaghetti and lasagna mixed together, with the noodles being his skin and the blood being the sauce. It made Fushimi nauseated, and gave him an instant hate for Italian food, and he couldn't help but avert his eyes from the scene and take a deep, calming breath. As he was gathering his thoughts, he couldn't help but berate himself. He'd seen this sight plenty of times, and what, he was going to get all emotional because it was... _him_?

Fuck that.

"Are there any organs missing?"

"Excuse me?" This time, she sounded a bit put off, and he couldn't hold back a smirk.

"His heart? Liver? Stomach?" He turned back to the body, eyes roaming. The skin was tore up pretty good, that much was obvious, but it didn't look like anything had been taken out. It just looked like something had raked its claws up and down his chest until he bled out.

What a fitting end.

"N-No," she stuttered, clearing her throat uncomfortably and looking at him oddly. "It's too early to truly say... Would you, would you like a moment alone?"

Fushimi thought about it for a minute. Niki had been found in his car behind a bar, not too far away from the city's edge but with enough buildings around that it was still a peculiar incident- at least, that's what the police had told him. It hadn't happened more than a day ago, that much was obvious. He'd seen plenty of bodies in various states of decomposition before, therefore he had the experience to just take a good look and be able to tell. He already had the claw marks memorized (_like he would be able to forget_)- shaking his head, he looked away finally, but made no move to cover his dead father's body again.

"No," he drawled. "I think I'm all done here. I'll be in touch, though."

"Oh, we can release him to the funeral home directly, so if you just go to them we can-"

Fushimi cut her off again, voice full of agitation. "Do what you want with him, as long as he's cremated. I'm not that interested in wasting anymore of my time on him. I'll be calling once the autopsy is fully done, though, to see if he has any organs missing."

"I-"

"Can I go now?" Fushimi smirked when he finally got a spark of anger out of her with his bored tone, swiftly walking out when all she could do was nod. He knew the police were there watching through the one-way window, something about 'victims' doing better with just a medical professional in the room and not the cops, but he didn't really care about their presence.

What was weird, though, was that someone else was there, and he wasn't in a police or hospital uniform; it was a long blue coat, buttoned over matching blue pants and a white shirt and cravat with knee-high black boots. He was quite tall, easily 180 cm if not more, with neat black hair and glasses covering his violet eyes. He had the posture of a rich brat, his hands held primly behind his back as he observed Fushimi. He didn't like him one bit, looking at him like that. At least the woman and the police's reactions were normal, this guy..

He looked like he knew too much.

"Who is he?" he asked the officer closest to him, the one who'd tried to converse with him the most on the ride there.

"Oh, he's a special investigator," the man said, and Fushimi could instantly tell from his breezy way of answering that he was lying. "Apparently, this is above us city cops somehow."

"Clearly," Fushimi snorted, sending a glare to the man who still remained silent. "Go ahead and solve it, then. I'll be waiting." At this, his lips quirked cruelly.

There's no way this guy would be able to figure it out. Not really.

The man moved forward gracefully, stopping and bowing entirely too close for Fushimi's comfort. "My name is Munakata Reisi. I am sorry for your loss, though it doesn't seem to be that much of a loss to you."

Fushimi couldn't help but raise his eyebrows at him while the policemen behind him blanched. So this guy was as blunt as he was, and looked intelligent too. Whatever, he was still just a civilian, 'private investigator' or not. "How dare you, I'm mourning," he facetiously stated, even going so far as to place a delicate hand over his chest. He knew he wouldn't be able to fool this Munakata guy; Fushimi had a feeling he'd see right through him. Might as well mess with him, now that his father was no longer casting a cloud over his miserable life.

_'Ding dong, the witch is dead.'_

What an annoying thought to pop up in his head.

Munakata gave him an easy smile, calm and composed despite the sassing from a sixteen year old (well, fifteen technically, but he only had... nine months until he was sixteen. Yeah, he was sixteen.) "Of course you are. What son in mourning doesn't ask about his deceased father's organs remaining intact?"

Was this guy _teasing_ him?

Fushimi scowled, dropping the little act, and clicked his tongue again in irritation. "Surely you don't suspect me. Didn't know if you noticed, or you're just that bad at your job, but those marks weren't made by a knife."

"I'm well aware of that fact, and that you didn't do it." There was still something in his tone that rubbed Fushimi the wrong way. It wasn't like him to keep up conversation with someone that was irritating him (i.e. anyone and everyone), but he felt.. curious.

Maybe this guy might figure it out.

Fushimi clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'm going now, if that's all."

The policemen behind Munakata confirmed that he was free to go, and that they would call if anything changed, but Fushimi was mostly tuning them out as he walked to the door.

"Ah, shouldn't you be going to your mother's house? Kisa-kun, correct?" Fushimi froze, palm pressed against the simple push/pull door, and made a point not to turn too quickly to focus back on Munakata. "I was told that you were found at a coffee shop, with some belongings in that backpack of yours." At this, Fushimi held the only operational strap tighter against his shoulder. He'd deduced that Fushimi was a runaway just from looking at him and his predicament. "She is out of the country, yes? None of us could get a hold of her. If you're in need of a temporary guardian-"

"I'm fine on my own," he snapped, eyes narrowed. Great, more fake concern and pity. "I'm not a little child."

That irritating, almost condescending-feeling smile was plastered back on his smug face, and he finally removed his hands from behind his back. When he held one out, a business card outstretched for Fushimi to take, he just looked at it like it was a piece of garbage. "In case you're in need of assistance."

Feeling a sense of awkwardness that he normally wouldn't, he snatched the card out of Munakata's hand with enough force to convey his dislike, and took a quick glance.

_Munakata Reisi_  
_Captain of Tokyo Legal Affairs Bureau_  
_Special Registry Department_  
_Annex 4_

There was also an address and phone number, which Fushimi quickly memorized, along with the long as fuck name of whatever the hell all that was supposed to mean. He looked back up at the man, who was looking down at him like he'd accomplished something grand, and felt his irritation spike again. Where the hell did this guy get off?

"No thanks," Fushimi laughed harshly, lips quirked in a wicked smile as he dropped the card in the trash on his way out, and actually managed to leave this time.

It felt less satisfying, however, with Munakata's still-smiling face watching him go as the doors closed.

* * *

  
It wasn't even a day later when they met again.

Fushimi had pushed the incident from his mind and had decided to focus on his father's case. He wasn't driven by any silly notion like revenge or vengeance or anything like that. After everything that bastard had put him through, it was better than anything Fushimi could ask for. No longer did he have to look over his shoulder and wonder if Niki would finally hunt him down, or if he'd been watching him this whole time and just making him _feel_ like he finally had freedom. He felt a sort of knot unravel in his stomach that he never knew was there, and only felt it tighten when memories popped up.

It had been a long night.

But once he'd quelled his thoughts and came to terms that _yes, he's actually dead, it's not a dream_, he was able to concentrate more clearly on the fact that he had a case.

Marks like that definitely had to have been caused by something with claws. Based on the lunar positions, it wasn't a werewolf, and the obvious things like vampires and demons were out- demons tended to be more clean with their carvings, though the amount of brutality was about right for it. It likely wasn't any type of bloodsucker, since the blood was too spread out, so they wouldn't be able to collect any by the time he bled out.

It was confusing, but not impossible to solve.

A shapeshifter? It was plausible, but it still wouldn't explain the extent of the injuries.

A skinwalker? It made sense... It wouldn't be hard to guess a motive, given how much of an asshole his father had been. The only problem with having a skinwalker as a main suspect, though, was finding the tricky bastard.

He'd know more if he could examine the scene.

Fushimi had woken up early, right at dawn, after a restless hour or two of sleep. Deciding to forgo anymore attempts at trying to rest, he'd gotten out of his makeshift bed of a gross overnight McDonald's booth (his only blanket carefully spread out under him to keep the disgusting germs off of him and his lumpy backpack placed under his head as a makeshift pillow). Sitting up and stretching his stiff muscles, he folded his blanket up to fit into his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. He made his way to the bathroom, sending a surly glance at an old couple looking on in judgement.

Once he had used the bathroom, using the smudgy mirror to run his fingers through his mess of hair, he made his way to the front counter. "Can I speak to the manager?"

The tired, but friendly-looking young girl at the register didn't argue, and within a minute, he was sliding ten thousand yen over the counter to him. "Black coffee."

The manager took the yen with a smirk, sticking it in his pocket and turning to make Fushimi's order. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you," he said cheerily, handing him the coffee.

Fushimi rolled his eyes, taking a sip and already halfway out the door as he murmured, "I'm sure."

Most places were so easy to bribe. No way was he sleeping behind alleys and dumpsters when he could just do this. It was cheaper than hotel rooms that had no place in his budget, and going home was definitely out of the question. So booths in cafes and restaurants would just have to do for the time being, at least until he made a name for himself on the dark web with his hacking.

Getting a cab was out of the question by choice, but that was fine. When Fushimi had left the hospital, he'd immediately looked up the location of the bar the police had told him his father had been found. It... had been a distance, but the thing about being technically homeless is that it left him with a lot of time. For things like, ugh, walking. He'd covered most of the distance last night, knowing that he would be in no mood to start out his day with a five hour walk, and had gotten it down to about forty-five minutes. Still not to his liking, but it beat the alternative, and he'd have plenty of time to finish his coffee.

The walk there was uneventful, and he drank the last of his coffee about halfway through. When he got there, the area was taped off, but the sun was still only beginning to rise, so there wasn't anyone on the scene. Fushimi snorted. Typical police.

Lifting the tape, he ducked underneath and made his way to the paint on the ground that indicated where his father's car had been parked. It was too much to ask that the car still be there. The last thing he wanted to do was trek all the way back across town, but he could stretch it out as an all-day thing. He'd need to do it in the cover of the night, anyway, so that seemed like a good option.

Focusing back on the task at hand, he located where the driver door would be, and was immediately hit with the stench and stark sight of blood. It was congealed on the pavement in a grotesque puddle. It wasn't a far stretch to assume that he'd been in his car when it happened and the blood had simply spilled out of the door, but without looking at the car, it was only a theory. He'd need to see it. With a frown, he also noted that there weren't any sort of footsteps leading away from the scene, no blood trails, nothing out of the ordinary.

He took a moment to look around outside the scene, trying to examine anything the creature could have left, but found nothing, and ultimately ended up back at the puddle of blood just staring at it.

Fushimi had gathered all the information from the scene that he could in the short amount of time that he'd been there, which was a frustratingly small amount, and knew that he should get going before any investigators showed up, but something kept him there.

It was a weird experience. He'd never felt so.. blank before. His mind was almost empty, not thinking about anything in particular as he stared at his father's blood. Memories flashed in his mind too quick to keep up with, making his head hurt, and he didn't think he'd be able to focus on any one if he tried, so he didn't.

"Hey! What are you doing here?"

Fushimi hated to admit it, but he started at the sudden sound, head whipping up in the direction it had come from and hand automatically reaching for a knife before he consciously stopped the movement. Two men were approaching him, already at the tape, and he immediately noticed that they were wearing almost the exact same uniform as the man, Munakata, had been at the hospital, with the addition of... swords? It made him narrow his eyes in immediate suspicion. Just what kind of private investigator was he? As far as Fushimi knew, they didn't have sidekicks who dressed exactly like each other doing their bidding for them, let alone carrying swords around like they were stupid cosplayers.

He started talking before he knew it. "What are _you_ doing here?"

The man nearest to him scowled, gray eyes examining him closely. His hair was to his shoulders, the top part pulled back into a neat bun. "This is a secure crime scene, surely you saw the tape."

"Surely you did, too," Fushimi huffed, cocking his hip. The trick was to act like you belonged there. "Can I see your badges?"

They both blinked like he had just asked for their fingernails. The younger looking officer started rummaging like he was going to produce it for him, but the black-haired man held his arm out to halt the movement. "We're permitted to be here, you aren't. You're contaminating potential evidence."

Fushimi opened his mouth to retaliate, but a familiar voice froze his vocal chords in his throat. "Ah, Fushimi-kun. What a surprise to see you here."

"Fushimi..?" the man muttered under his breath, and Fushimi cursed.

Munakata managed to make ducking under police tape look graceful. His approach gained him two bows from the officers and a tongue click from the teenager.

"Sir, we were just about to remove him," the youngest man said, posture stiff. Almost like they were more military than police, or investigators.

"He can stay," Munakata stated, shocking them all.

"Captain," the man with the half bun spoke hesitantly. "Even if he is related to the deceased, is it.. wise to have him here?"

Well, that was insulting. He had more business here than them, not that they had any idea of that. They knew that he was related, sure, but they didn't know what they were getting into, or how to deal with it. Things would just go quicker if Fushimi could work this without interference.

He was about to speak, spin a tale about how he was grieving and needed more information than the police had given him, which wasn't too out of the norm, when Munakata let out a light chuckle. "Fushimi-kun, here, seems to think we won't be able to solve this little mystery. I'd like to see what he has to say about what he's found."

Fushimi glared at him with disdain, stuffing his freezing hands in his hoodie pocket. He was wearing the same ratty outfit that he had been the day before, and even though Munakata was as well, it was a little different when it was a uniform as opposed to an outfit. It would only solidify Munakata's suspicion of him being a runaway, but there wasn't much he could do about that at this point. "I'm not really cut out for police work. Or... whatever you all are."

"I'm sure you can figure something out," Munakata replied smugly, nodding to the two men by his side. "Please check out the surrounding area for anything the police could have missed. Keep me updated, Kamo-kun."

"Sir!" the bun man, apparently Kamo, saluted, and they both left immediately after, leaving the two alone.

Fushimi's expression soured. Great, now he was stuck alone with his new favorite person. Why the hell did this guy seem so interested in him anyway? "Are you some sort of pervert?"

"I beg your pardon?" Unlike the medical examiner from yesterday, Munakata just seemed more amused than before instead of taken aback.

"A per-vert," Fushimi enunciated slowly, growing more irritated with Munakata's lack of reaction. "You're following me around. Did I get you going that much yesterday?"

Munakata smiled serenely. "I'm merely here to do my job: investigate your father's untimely death."

Fushimi just couldn't get a read on this guy. Normally, his strategy was to annoy information out of people without them even knowing what he was doing, but this man was unflappable. As much as Fushimi hated to admit it, he was too smart for any of his usual tactics.

With a sigh, Fushimi forced himself to relax, and tried one more trick before he made his escape: "I just... felt bad for the way I acted, and... he's my father, so..." God, he couldn't even force the words out of his mouth. What a bunch of bullshit. "I wanted to know what the police weren't telling me."

It looked like it was going to work for a minute. Munakata's expression remained the same, but he had a softness in his eyes that wasn't there before, and he'd tilted his head slightly as if thinking of whether it was the truth or not.

Something in Fushimi's own expression must have given him away, however, because Munakata smiled that calm smile again. "I mean no disrespect, but I sincerely doubt that."

There really was no getting anything past him. Fushimi let out an annoyed huff, crossing his arms and taking a step back. "Well, in any case, if you're not going to arrest me, if you're even allowed to legally do that, I'm just gonna leave-"

"I'd like to hear your opinion, if you'd care to indulge me before you go." Even when he was interrupting him, Munakata still managed to sound polite. It was seriously pissing Fushimi off.

"You want the opinion of a civilian, the son of the dead guy, on a crime scene that he broke into that he has no training for?" he asked, a little bit incredulously. What could this guy be playing at? Just what did he _want_?

Munakata just looked at him expectantly.

Fushimi heaved a sigh, glaring down at the blood like it was the one inconveniencing him and not the weirdo standing in front of him. It wasn't too much of a big deal, in all actuality, but Munakata put him on edge like no one else had before. He'd never had trouble tricking and manipulating his way out of trouble, and that wasn't possible with Munakata.

He actually had to think for once, and while it was a little nice to be faced with a challenge, it was also _annoying as hell_.

He couldn't give Munakata his full hypothesis, obviously, but he could point him in the right direction. Maybe with a little hint, he'd be able to actually figure it out. Fushimi just hoped he would be able to see his expression falter if it happened. "Your little boyscouts aren't going to find anything. There's nothing out there to indicate where something went after it attacked him."

Munakata patiently waited to see if he would continue, but when he didn't, he let out a thoughtful hum. "I see. So you have no theories as to what did this?"

"Probably a rabid dog," Fushimi shrugged, but knew that this answer didn't satisfy the man at all. If it were a simple dog, there would be pawprints leading away from the scene, what with them being covered in blood and all. Anyone with a brain would be able to piece together that much. "I don't know without looking at the car, but I assume he was in the driver's seat, so it would have to be something that could get in there on him. He wanted a quick getaway but was too drunk to make it happen."

Munakata nodded after a moment, placing his hands behind his back, and advanced closer to Fushimi. Did this guy know nothing about personal space? "And this is all you could come up with?"

"What does it matter?" Fushimi snapped, crossing his arms in front of his chest and leaning away. "Surely, you're not so lazy that you have to have other people do your work for you."

Letting out an amused huff, Munakata finally backed off, and shook his head. "Of course not. I'm simply a leader who likes to hear all of my subordinates' opinions."

"I'm not a subordinate," Fushimi practically snarled, easily brushing past him. He'd had enough of this. "Just stay out of my way next time. I'm actually trying to figure something out here, unlike you idiots."

"I wish you the best of luck," Munakata announced as he left.

Fushimi clicked his tongue again.

Munakata sounded like he meant it.

* * *

  
About three hours into his journey across town (he was a slow walker, since he actually wanted to conserve his energy and didn't need to be across the city until after sunset), Fushimi had stopped to grab a snack out of a vending machine and sat on a deserted bench in range of a public wifi spot. Before he started munching on his makeshift lunch, he typed what he needed into the search bar, then unwrapped his energy bar and started reading.

As far as he could tell, the Tokyo Legal Affairs Bureau, Special Registry Department, Annex 4 really was a private investigative organization, even if he couldn't make sense of the name. Their public website wasn't far out of the ordinary, offering their services in a professional manner, but the deeper he dug, the more confused he got. He decided to do some light hacking, just to see if it was legitimate- a nagging feeling in the back of his head telling him that no, it wasn't- and couldn't even manage to break through the first firewall.

It soured his mood for the rest of the day.

Fushimi kept wandering around the city, trying to pick up a wifi signal that wouldn't be too weak or bogged down with so many people using it, but ultimately had no luck, and found himself cursing his predicament once again. He'd had a bit of luck with digging up Munakata Reisi's and Kamo Ryuuhou's backgrounds, but there wasn't much he could get without a stronger signal. They came from normal families- Munakata's brother was a landscaper, for fuck's sake- and had never been in any legal trouble, though there was an interesting incident that resulted in the deaths of Kamo's wife and child a few years ago. Both were certified private investigators.

To anyone with average intelligence, it looked like everything was in order. Fushimi didn't have average intelligence, though.

However, he did have a potential skinwalker to catch, so he decided to push those thoughts out of his head to focus on his plan to break into the impound to get a look at his dead father's car. Hacking the cameras wouldn't be a problem, since the library was right across the street. Fushimi had gotten kicked out of there and banned, so it wasn't like he could go in, but if he sat against the building around back, he'd have good enough wifi to get the job done.

Sort of odd, given that the police had worse protection than Munakata's stupid preppy boy club, but since it was a private firm- and the bastard looked insanely rich- he probably paid top dollar for online protection.

He let out a small sigh, scratching the inside of his wrist. He was getting off topic again.

Once he would kill the cameras and lights, disorienting the guard long enough for him to knock him out, he'd open the gate and be in and out before anyone else was the wiser. There was a gate in the back that he could use if things went south, and a patch on the fence where there wasn't any barbed wire that he could use as a last resort. There was always room for back-up plans, especially when he was dealing with the stupid cops. They always had a way with fucking his work up.

There wasn't much that could go wrong with his plan, really.

Fushimi threw his wrapper in the trash, just having finished his second and last meal of the day (if you could call a mochi ball dinner), and slung his backpack over his shoulder. He was only a couple of blocks from the police station, and the color of the setting sun had just faded from a vibrant orange to a rich midnight blue, so he made it to the library just in time for it to finally be dusk. Despite it just turning dark, there weren't many people out, given that he was currently between a library and a police station, which was perfect for him. Less potential witnesses. As he was making his way towards the back, he did a quick scan of the lot he was about to break into, and had to pause in a slight amount of shock when he didn't see his father's car anywhere in there.

He increased his pace, rounding the corner of the building and plopping himself down on the dirty ground without a care. He'd normally set his bag carefully under him to decrease the distance between himself and the ground as much as possible, but urgency had him ripping his laptop out and carelessly discarding his backpack somewhere to his left. His fingers flew across the keys once his electronic booted up, quickly bringing down the first firewall of their security. Just a few more taps...

Camera angles popped up all over his screen. It took him a few minutes to sort them out manually, his usual program that did it automatically for him not able to run on such shitty wifi while he was also trying to hack and not get caught, but once he did, he confirmed what he had feared.

Well, there was one thing that could go wrong with his plan, and it was apparently the fact that Niki's car wasn't even there.

Fushimi closed out of all of his programs, shutting his laptop with way more force than necessary, and tossing it onto his lumpy backpack. Just when he thought this all couldn't get even more frustrating than it already was. Where could they have taken his father's car? It wasn't like they could bring it inside or something-

_'I'd like to hear your opinion...'_

_'I don't know without looking at the car...'_

That _bastard_.

Fushimi sat there seething for a wonderful minute, teeth grit and fists clenching uselessly at his sides. Why hadn't he thought of that sooner? If the police really had given Munakata's 'firm' his father's case, then they would get all the evidence, right? Including the damn car. And especially when he handed him the idea on a silver platter, if he hadn't had it already and was just fucking with him.

They would have probably went to get it anyway, but it still aggravated him to no end that he'd been the one to mention it. If he had just left without wasting his time talking to Munakata, maybe the car would still be here. Maybe he would already have a clear answer as to what exactly happened.

He took a deep, calming breath.

He wasn't going to get anything done just sitting here thinking about what _could_ have happened, what he _could_ have done. He needed to kill whatever was out there, in case it decided to kill again. He'd trained all his life for this, and he couldn't afford to get caught up on just a few minor (annoying) setbacks. He had a job to do, a hunt to go on, and a new plan to improvise.

Fushimi sighed, stuffing his laptop back into his bag and grabbing his wallet out of one of the zipper compartments he kept it in.

Time for his favorite activity: hailing a cab.

* * *

  
By the time he reached Munakata's ridiculous organization's address, it was already past midnight. He'd had to make a stop at an electronics store (taking the time to change in case he got caught again, but he only had a black hoodie and jeans with holes that were clean enough, so it wasn't much better), buying a few things that he'd need: a personal hotspot, a portable charger, and a signal re-router that he messed around with on the ride there to increase its power. He had his hood pulled up the whole time, and gave the driver a good tip to keep his mouth shut should Munakata come sniffing after him. He had a feeling he couldn't be too careful with this one.

The building before him was elaborate. Fushimi knew that it would look just as fancy on the inside; places like this always did. It was some sort of pale brick that could be mistaken for marble at a distance, especially in the dark. There were multiple buildings that made up the property, so it was more of a complex, but they all had the same general design- complete with matching landscape. Probably the work of Munakata's brother.

He made his way carefully around the back of the building without wasting time, noting the multiple camera positions and the supposed lack of any sort of guards. Either confident or stupid, it didn't matter. Fushimi would take full advantage of it.

Settling against the back of the main building, he made sure all of his devices were operational and either fully charged or charging before logging onto his newly bought hotspot and getting to work.

He knew it would take a while to crack, just from what he'd gone through earlier. It wouldn't be difficult, just time consuming. He'd barely started and he was already starting to lose feeling in his fingers from the crisp, mid-February night air, but once he had looped all the cameras in the area he was in, it was only a few moments more when he finally finished his program and sat back to wait. He pulled his hand warmers out of his pocket, rubbing the small item in his hands to force the blood flow back into them. Really, this would be the worst part about this. He hated to get up and move around, but his shivering was starting to feel more like full-body convulsions, so he put his laptop on his bag and stood up on his aching feet to force his blood to flow.

Fushimi wasn't usually a paranoid person, but he found himself glancing in every direction as he paced up and down the back of the building. He felt like he was being watched, but that was ridiculous; there was no one around, and he'd already made his presence invisible on tape. So why did he feel like he was being observed under a microscope? He rubbed up and down his arms, hoping to force warmth from the kinetic motion, but as it got later, the temperature just kept dropping.

He hoped it wouldn't take much longer.

Once he could feel his limbs better, he made his way back to his little setup and checked on his progress. It was almost done. Soon, he'd have access to their secured files, and would know exactly where they were keeping his father's car.

Seriously, they had a stable, but no sort of garage or car lot on the premises?

Fushimi sat back down on his bag, deciding against wrapping his blanket around him since he wouldn't be there that much longer, and smirked when his program finally flashed a '100%' at him. He immediately started searching for his father's file, and isolated the list of evidence without really reading through what they _thought_ had happened. It may have contained something useful, but he didn't have time to skim through the reports of idiot cops who knew nothing.

Despite having seen his father himself, the pictures still took his breath away, and he quickly scrolled through them once he'd established his theory as correct- Niki had been in his driver seat when he'd been killed, and there had been so much blood that the car couldn't contain it. There wasn't much physical evidence to filter through, the car being the main piece. When he learned that it was held in a non-descript garage outside of the city, he frowned deeply. _'Why the hell would it be all the way out there-?'_

His re-router beeped.

Fushimi shut the program out immediately, jumping up and stuffing his laptop, charger, and hotspot into his backpack with a knot growing in his stomach. Grabbing the quietly beeping re-router, he tossed it as far as he could before taking off running in the other direction, feet pounding against the smooth stone beneath him and breath visibly puffing out every time he breathed.

He knew he was on a time limit, but this was just ridiculous. It was a cheap re-router and wouldn't stop an experienced hacker like Fushimi (who at least had the forethought to wire in a sensor to let him know when he'd be caught), but for whoever was on his trail to have tracked him in that amount of time... They had to either be an expert, or this place had round the clock protection and counter measures in place.

They had something to hide.

"The captain said the signal came from this direction!"

Fushimi pressed himself flush to one of the trees planted aesthetically around the courtyard he'd managed to make it to, chest heaving as he tried to quiet his breathing as much as possible. There were two men rushing past him towards where he'd thrown the re-router, not paying their darkened surroundings any mind. He repressed a tongue click. Idiots.

There were more people approaching, though. People of the same stupid uniform were appearing in a steady stream out of the main entrance, some splitting off to the location he'd initiated his hack and others heading to the gates to cut off the exit points. It was a good strategy, to trap their enemy and sweep the place until they found him, but it wouldn't be good enough.

He'd been hoping to make it through the entrance before they shut it off, but he'd severely underestimated their response time, and would have to evade capture until he figured another way out. He took a deep, quiet breath, sliding down the trunk of the tree until he was sitting on the filthy dirt. The gates surrounded the entire property, and was easily five meters tall, the bars spaced out just enough that even his skinny frame wouldn't make it through. The only place where there was a break in the gates...

Fushimi's lip curled in distaste.

"Don't just focus on the signal area!" Fushimi peered carefully around the tree, eyes narrowing. The man from the crime scene before, Kamo, was there, standing at the entrance where more people were pouring out. Seriously, how many people worked here, and so late at night? "The captain said the enemy is incredibly intelligent! They've likely already left the area, so spread out and search the premises!"

Fushimi grit his teeth, not sticking around to see just how well they could find him from his pitiful hiding spot now that lights were starting to pop to life above them all. Losing the cover of darkness would be a huge disadvantage, and he'd have to be quick to be able to make his escape. Pushing himself off the tree, he took off in a sprint.

There wasn't much to conceal his presence, so he made a b-line towards the back of the property. His heart was pounding in his chest, and exhaustion was creeping up in his limbs and lungs the longer he ran. He walked a lot, since his hatred for public transportation, but his lack of proper care for his body didn't help him in the physical department much, so it was no surprise that he found himself panting for breath in no time at all. The cold air stung his lungs, making it harder to breathe, but his need to not get caught pushed him through it.

"You there! Stop!" he heard behind him, and somehow found it in him to increase his pace.

"He's over here!"

"Don't let him get away!"

Fushimi glared ahead of him, not daring to look back and slow himself down, and instead focused on their footsteps. There were only two people following him for now, and they sounded several meters behind him, so he had a little wiggle room to work with. Now, if he could just make it around this corner with no issue...

His exit came into view, blocked by a lone investigator that looked as shocked as Fushimi felt to see each other. He didn't let it show, and didn't hesitate. Drawing three knives without faltering his steps, he threw them just as the man started to draw his sword. His targets were met with a _thwunk_ as the blades penetrated the wooden siding of the building, right through the clothes of the stunned blond he was now racing past and through the entrance, slamming the door shut behind him before taking off again. He heard the man cursing, and let out a few expletives of his own. He'd injured the man's arm accidentally, his aim being slightly thrown off by how fast he was running. Not to mention he was now down three knives.

The stench of the interior almost overwhelmed him for a second, but he pushed his disgust down and kept moving against the dirt now beneath him. The stables were the last place he wanted to be, but the gates connected to the large barn, and beyond it was a pasture. Surrounding that pasture was a mere wooden gate, enough to keep horses in but easily climbed by a human. The huge barn doors were shut ahead of him, blocking his view of the field, but he knew it was there, and the hint of freedom was enough of a promised getaway that he hit the doors running, nearly messing up his wrist in the process. He quickly undid the latch, but his attention was drawn to the door he'd entered through as it burst open. The two men that had been chasing him spotted him instantly, and he ignored their shouts as he smirked at them and threw the huge door open with all his strength. They would be too far away to catch him if he could just keep up his pace.

Not bothering to try and shut this door, since it would only slow him down, he took off running once again. He hadn't caught his breath yet in the slight pause it took him to force the doors open, but he doubted he would until he was far away from there. The fence outlining the field was flush with dense trees and dead vegetation, since they were on the outskirts of the city. To the right was the road that would take him back, and to the left was a few leagues of forest. Of course he wanted to go back to the city, but they would be expecting that. He would just have to keep straight, running up the field to the fence and beyond it into the trees before changing his direction. He was almost to the gate-

_ **BANG** _

Fushimi instantly dropped to his knees when a blaring pain exploded in his right hip, crying out when he landed harshly on the bone. The shot rang out in his ears, dazing him momentarily, but he shook his head to clear it and garner what had happened.

"You idiot! You could have killed him!"

Fushimi risked a glance back, and his eyes widened when he saw the distance he'd put between himself and them. Although they were only twenty meters away (more coming through the barn doors but too far to do much of anything), they had paused, one of the men snatching a still-smoking gun out of the other's hand. "The captain said to capture him alive, not kill him!"

"Well, he doesn't look dead!" the investigator shouted defensively, gesturing to where he was collapsed on the ground and still experiencing the shocks of pain running up his nerves. "He's only injured, so let's just hurry up and catch him!"

This snapped Fushimi out of his shock, and he scrambled to his feet with a hiss, hand clutching his side where he already felt blood starting to gather. He was running again in an instant.

"What the hell?! I missed?" he heard the guy yelp, then footsteps approaching once again.

Putting weight on his knees was like stabbing himself in the kneecaps, let alone the jarring motion running caused on his freely bleeding hip. Based on the fact that he could still move- adrenaline, admittedly, playing a big hand- it was just a graze, but that didn't stop it from burning like crazy, and he wasn't sure if he'd be able to fool them now that he was as injured as he was. Placing a hand on the top part of the fence, he barely slowed his momentum, flinging his body over the wood in a vault. It caused instant fire to erupt in his hip, and he flinched, the movement causing him to land on his side in a roll and not on his feet like he'd planned. Once he came to a halt, he lay on the ground for a second, groaning quietly and coughing roughly every time he exhaled. Well, that certainly hurt.

"Hey, stay down! You'll just hurt yourself!" the man that hadn't shot him yelled, and Fushimi pushed himself to his feet once again. They were close, and if he didn't get in the treeline now, he'd have no chance of getting away. Thankfully he only had a slight limp for the moment, and disappeared into the brush just before they made it to the fence.

He immediately broke left, biting his tongue to keep from crying out when he had to lift his legs higher to avoid the dead, thorny bushes nipping at his shins. He'd never been good at this type of terrain, since his father had kept him mostly in cities and he had no desire to rough it in the wilderness, so he knew that it was unlikely he'd be able to run completely away now. He paused to lean against a tree, careful not to get any blood on it, and considered his options. Well, _option_.

Fushimi cringed when he heard them gaining on him. No surprise, considering how much distance they covered when they'd managed to take him down, but still not ideal. He pulled out a knife and dug it into the tree, then jumped up and grabbed onto the lowest, sturdiest branch he could find. He pulled his body up with a muffled grunt, using the foot of his good leg to help lift himself up with the knife he'd just secured as a foothold. He made sure he was secure, then reached down and pulled the knife out of the tree, and wasted no time in scaling it once he was up and surrounded by branches. Had he not been as skinny as he was, the branches would have more than likely snapped under his weight, but they thankfully seemed to be holding up well enough.

He stopped once he thought he was high enough, and when he thought it was too dangerous for him to continue- either they would hear him or he would accidentally send a twig down on them. There weren't any leaves, but it was dark enough that they likely wouldn't see him in his dark clothing. If they even decided to look up.

Apparently, they'd waited for backup before coming after him, because he thought he saw at least three men below him now, but it was hard to tell from his position and the lack of light. They barely slowed when they reached his tree, taking only a few moments to scout the ground area before moving on.

Only when he heard silence did he let out a relieved sigh, allowing himself to pant slightly to replenish his lost oxygen. As he quietly gasped for his breath, he lifted his hoodie and lowered his jeans, gritting his teeth to keep from crying out at the fabric and cold air brushing up against his wound. He couldn't much see it, now that he was in the caliginous forest, but his earlier assessment that it was just a graze was correct as far as he could tell. It wasn't bleeding as much as it could have been, but somehow burned worse than any bullet wound he'd ever had (which had only been two, but the point still stood). If he could grab his belt, he could sacrifice a shirt and use it as a makeshift bandage and secure it tightly to his hip, but staying balanced was already difficult enough without moving around and trying to dig something out of his over-filled bag.

Fushimi stilled when he heard faint voices approaching, and consciously focused on steadying his breathing. He knew, at this point, that he'd have to wait them out, and could only hope that they gave up quickly. He would need to tend to his injuries sooner rather than later, and would much prefer to get out of the cold.

".... thought that shooting at him was the best solution," he managed to make out between twigs snapping, and noticed a white beam beginning to shed light on the area.

"I see."

Fushimi barely suppressed a tongue click, scowling heavily as Munakata Reisi came into view and subconsciously pressing himself closer to the frigid wood. He was surrounded by three others, the only one he recognized being Kamo, all of them besides the captain with their guns drawn and held at their sides.

"Enji-kun has been sent to the infirmary, as well," Kamo told him, and Fushimi figured they were talking about the man he'd pinned to the wall. "He only has a minor injury, though. Kentarou-kun has also located one of the devices the culprit used."

"Excellent," Munakata said pleasantly, and had to stop right under where Fushimi was hidden. He bit his lip with enough force to split it as he placed more pressure on his hip; it would be not good if he decided to start bleeding all over the place. "Any luck locating him?"

"He's quick, sir," the shortest responded, pulling out his phone and scrolling along. "Haya-chan- uh, Hayako, and Tsubasa-san said that after they shot at him, he disappeared into the forest and they lost sight of him. If Hayako did manage to shoot him, he should leave some sort of trail."

"Perhaps he missed," the only woman shrugged, catching a glare from the shortest.

"I wouldn't be too sure," Munakata practically chirped, placing a hand thoughtfully on the trunk of the tree. His fingers intentionally brushed against where Fushimi's knife had gone through the bark, and Fushimi tensed. The investigator reached into his pocket, Fushimi's blade glinting in the shine of the flashlight as he held it up for examination. He must have gotten it off of the barn wall. "... Perhaps we should call off the search."

"Sir?" Kamo asked incredulously, Fushimi joining in on their collective shock.

"It's quite cold out here, don't you think?" Munakata chuckled, not looking the least bit chilled. "It's getting late, as well. The enemy is already long gone."

Fushimi's eyes narrowed. Something about his voice... It didn't sit right with him. But if it got them the hell out of here, then that was fine by him.

"Mishi-kun, please do collect the others, and let them know they've done well." At this, the shortest nodded, and took off back where they'd come from. "Akitagawa-kun, I'd like you to check up on Enji-kun, see if he has any sort of description, given that he was seemingly the only one who may have seen the enemy's face." The woman affirmed his orders, bowing slightly before leaving. Fushimi hoped that his hoodie didn't fail in disguising his features enough.

Once the two were alone, Munakata placed a hand on Kamo's shoulder with a smile. "You're proving yourself quite the useful third in command, Kamo-kun."

Kamo bowed slightly, so Fushimi couldn't see his exact expression, but his voice was full of embarrassment. "Thank you, Munakata-san."

"I'm sure it hasn't been easy, what with your newest addition."

Fushimi couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. He didn't read anything about Kamo having another child recently.

"I'm managing," Kamo sighed, and although he remained politely attentive, there was exhaustion clear on his features even from where Fushimi was. "I can't thank you enough for helping me gain guardianship of him, and pardon the subject change, but shouldn't we be heading back to headquarters?"

Munakata didn't answer for a moment, allowing Fushimi to tune into his surroundings once again. He could hear some movement not too far away from them, probably the others going back to the building, but it faded to the background again when the captain started talking. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask a little overtime of you, Kamo-kun. There's something I need you to do, and it can't wait."

"Of course, sir," Kamo said immediately, then backpedaled. "Well, I'll need someone to check in on Andy, but-"

"I will watch after him, don't worry," Munakata smiled easily. To Fushimi, it was creepy.

"Oh, he's still awake, captain, and I don't think he'll be asleep anytime soon. He's.. quite the handful. I wouldn't want to bother you."

"Consider it a repayment, then, for interrupting your rest."

Kamo was silent for a brief pause, then nodded. "What do you need from me?"

"I would like you to retrieve the Fushimi vehicle." Fushimi's breath caught in his throat. "I'm afraid the lot we've chosen won't be secure enough."

"Sir," Kamo said hesitantly, hand nervously brushing a stray hair away from his chin. "There's never been a problem with the facility before... Do you think the break-in tonight has something to do with-" He cut himself off, a thoughtful sound escaping his throat. "Surely, it wasn't that brat from the crime scene earlier that did this?"

Munakata didn't respond, but Fushimi knew that he knew it was him.

When he didn't get an answer, Kamo finally put his gun back in his holster and sighed again. "I don't know why you indulged him. He could be trouble if he's busting into places he shouldn't be.. I'll bring the car here and check in with you when I come to pick up Andy. Although I still think you should reconsider leaving him with Mishi-kun instead, they seem to get along-"

Fushimi breathed quietly into the hand that wasn't holding his hip, trying to warm it back up. If they didn't leave soon, his light shivering would turn into convulsions again, and it wouldn't take long for them to locate him once the damn tree started vibrating. He'd gained valuable information, though he'd hardly say it was worth it. They were going to bring Niki's car here, meaning if he wanted to look at it, he'd have to break back _in_ to this damned place. Security would surely be tighter thanks to his escapades tonight, but he felt like he now knew what he was getting into. He'd be able to account for everything he couldn't before, like exactly how long it would take to hack the cameras, and that he'd have to actively keep them from tracking his signal. He could probably do this again.. He'd have to check his hip first and see if he would be up to it, but already knew that he'd be back tomorrow night whether he was okay or not.

He hadn't been paying attention, but he noticed when Kamo finally left, handing the captain his flashlight with a peculiar look on his face. Munakata remained under the tree for a moment, holding the flashlight and Fushimi's knife. He wasn't smiling anymore.

"To think that one of my men were so rash," he said suddenly, almost startling the teenager above him with the sudden sound. Despite his frown, which looked uncharacteristic on his regal features, his tone was lighthearted. "I'll need to reconsider my training program."

Fushimi's brows furrowed, and he felt a violent shiver run up his spine. Why the hell couldn't he just leave already? He'd called off the search..

Surely he didn't know Fushimi was up in the tree?

Munakata suddenly chuckled, and he looked less troubled. "Perhaps I need a new hire." He twirled the knife in his hand, not as quick and skilled as Fushimi but he had a considerable talent since he didn't slice his fingers off, stuck the blade right in the indentation where Fushimi's other knife had been, and left without another word.

Fushimi waited until Munakata's footsteps had completely disappeared, but couldn't wait much longer than that. His hip was screaming at him because of the uncomfortable position he'd been forced to remain in, his knees similarly aching but more of a dull feeling than a burn, and the cold had long since seeped into every fiber of his thin clothing. He managed to wince his way down the tree, using the knife Munakata had left in the tree to place his foot like he had to get up, and ended up staring at the handle sticking out once he was on solid ground. It was probably the cold and exhaustion (and bloodloss), but he couldn't focus on a single thought- _'Did he know I was up there?' 'If he did, why did he let me know about the car?' 'What was he talking about?' 'How am I going to get back in here if he does suspect I'll be back?' 'Can I even handle it?'_ With an annoyed huff and a shake of his head, he yanked the knife roughly out of the bark and carefully made his way back to the city.__

* * *

  
Fushimi's hip hurt like hell.

After cleaning and bandaging it, he'd changed out of his bloodstained clothes into the only clothes he had left clean- a gray flannel, black jeans, and a plain long-sleeved shirt, and after a moment of consideration tugged on a black beanie to warm up his ears. He made his way to the laundry mat to clean his few belongings, crinkling his nose as he stuffed his clothes into the unsanitary, public machines. He hated more than anything to use these; god knows what kind of gross people used it before him. It was a necessity, though, since he himself refused to be gross like that.

He really needed to invest in his own place. Maybe now that Niki was dead, he'd be able to get a bigger chunk of his money-

No. He refused to use anymore his father's cash. He didn't need him, or anything of his.

He caught a couple of hours of sleep while his load finished, waking up to switch it to the dryer and every time someone got within seven meters of him- which only happened twice, since it was the middle of the night. He changed back into his dark hoodie and jeans, sighing contentedly at the warmth covering him immediately.

Most of the day was spent in a coffee shop guzzling caffeine and tweaking his original plan along with a new re-router he'd purchased. He'd need more time to make it good enough, since last time it had been weak and easily detectable. The temperature looked like it was going to be warmer tonight, if only by a few degrees, so maybe he wouldn't freeze his ass off this time. Once he found the car, he would break into it and look around to see if he could find anything useful, and if need be, he'd just hotwire it and take it. If he was caught, a car would be better than running, especially with his severely bruised knees and shredded hip.

If there were more guards, he'd just have to sneak around them, or take them out like he'd done that Enji guy. He'd have to aim better so he wouldn't have an assault charge against him if he did have the misfortune of getting captured, but knew the option was likely going to be necessary.

Taking the cab all the way there would be too risky this time around, now that the pressure was high, so he got as close as he dared before making his way up the street. He walked on the dirt along the road instead of the pavement to minimize the sound of his approach and stayed close to the woods in case a car happened to pass. He was met with no trouble, however, and was soon greeted with the huge gate. He instantly noticed two guards at the brightly lit entrance to the property, swords and guns strapped to their sides. He backed against a tree, cursing how much he had to sit on the ground lately, and started pulling out all of the devices he'd need.

Hacking the cameras again took way longer than yesterday. Not only had physical security increased, but the cyber security was just about a nightmare to deal with now. He'd had the forethought to double up his clothes, wearing two hoodies instead of just one, but his fingers were still freezing. He needed to invest in a cell phone.

The cameras were eventually looping, and he allowed himself a moment with his hand warmers before he pressed deeper into their security for a location on Niki's car. The location wasn't anywhere in the online archives, no matter how much he searched. Munakata must have suspected another attack.

No matter. He'd just have to scan through the increased footage of the area until he found it.

Fushimi was furious by the time he located it. It was in the damn parking lot, the perfect place for it to blend in, and had taken him longer than he'd like to admit to track it down. Not to mention it was so close to the entrance of the building.

From the cameras, the only guards in eyesight of the car were the two at the gate and the two at the door. Four opponents that he'd have to take off the board. He'd have to be quick, and really couldn't afford to burn through anymore knives. He also couldn't fight with his injured hip. Luring them away with a fake security alarm wasn't an option either, it would just alert everyone else in this stupid building complex and they'd swarm the property again.

He'd have to get creative. He sighed. Every time he got creative, it got messy.

Fushimi cut off the lights to the entrances, and everyone was plunged into darkness. It was a new moon that night, so there was barely any natural source of light. Within seconds, there were four flashlights lighting up a smaller area than the main lights. "What happened?" he heard one of them shout, sounding familiar. Mishi or something? It was definitely the short one from last night.

"Stay in position!" an unfamiliar voice yelled in return, the sound carrying over the courtyard.

Fushimi packed his electronics back in his bag and picked up a large branch, standing stiffly and carefully approaching the gate. Barely pausing to collect a small stone, he waited until he was as close as he could before tossing it as far as he could over the guards' heads and letting it hit the pavement on their other side, gathering their attention rather quickly. While they were busy questioning the noise and reacting, Fushimi rushed at the closest one, and swung the branch at his head with all of his might.

He'd like to not hurt anyone, more for his sake than theirs. If he got caught, assault was worse than simple breaking and entering. He would just have to make sure he wasn't caught.

His opponent collapsed in a heap, his flashlight falling making more noise than his impact and groan. It hadn't knocked him out, which wasn't surprising. Real life was a bit different than how head trauma actually was, and a hit like that would only daze him for a short time.

"Mishi!" His companion immediately turned, light shining on Fushimi- but it was too late. He'd barely stopped moving after he had taken Mishi down, already swinging with as much force as he could muster up. The wood splintered when it hit the man's temple, and he, too, went down. Without hesitating, he stomped on his head, leading him completely into unconsciousness.

"Hey, what's going on?"

Fushimi's branch was too short to use on the two others approaching him, so he started reaching for a flashlight when he paused for a split second. The light was shining on Mishi, highlighting his wavy, chestnut hair and shining off the small amount of blood that clung to it. His dark blue eyes were blinking rapidly, but still half-lidded as he pushed himself up to his elbows. "Wha...?"

He pulled out a knife. Moving closer, he was careful to avoid the blood as he fisted his fingers in Mishi's hair, yanking the older teen (he was obviously just reaching adulthood, looking rather young to be a private investigator) up into a kneeling position and pressing the knife to his throat. The move seemed to have made his hostage woozier, since he wanted to slump forward instead of jerk away from the sharp, foreign metal. Must still be dazed.

Fushimi couldn't help but squint his eyes when two sets of lights settled on him, and he lowered his head to keep them from seeing his features behind his hood. "Release him at onc-!"

"Make one move and I'll slit his throat," Fushimi interrupted coldly, letting his knife draw a bit of blood to prove his point. This caused the two in front of him to come to a dead stop and his hostage to gasp, finally realizing the situation he was in.

"Just take it easy," the brown haired one said soothingly, but Fushimi didn't let him continue. Nothing they said was going to help them.

"You have three seconds to send your swords and guns over here. You know what'll happen if you don't."

There was a slight pause, longer than the time allotted to them. His right hip was still injured, so he used the heel of his left foot to slam down on Mishi's back knee like he had his partner's head. Not enough force to break bone, but enough to dislocate it if he hit it right.

Mishi's scream was loud enough to make him almost think he'd accidentally broken it, but he hadn't heard the familiar snap of bones splintering. Still, he was covering the man's mouth quickly with his sleeve- no way was he getting this guy's saliva on his skin. Bad enough it was getting on his hoodie. "I'm waiting."

"Alright, alright! Just don't hurt him again." The other man's voice was panicked. They didn't know what to do. Good.

Two swords clattered right in front of him, and two guns slid to join them not a second later. He hated guns, but people just weren't intimidated by knives like they were when a gun was pointed at them. He squeezed Mishi's hair tighter, drawing a muffled whimper from him. "Pick it up."

He apparently didn't need to specify, since Mishi carefully reached forward and wrapped his shaky fingers around the barrel of the closest gun. He'd barely pulled it within Fushimi's reach before the teen snatched it out of his hand, pointing it at the two without hesitation. "Drop the flashlights and quit blinding me."

They set them down, both beams facing opposite directions. He couldn't make out any features the two had other than their uniforms and hair color, but could see no visible weapons, though they appeared to have handcuffs strapped to their hips, something he'd noticed all these 'investigators' had.

"Sorry about this," he muttered, and all Mishi had time to do was widen his eyes before Fushimi was slamming the handle of the gun onto the other side of his head. He slumped onto the ground, completely out this time.

"Was that necessary?" the panicking one snapped, and looked like he would have charged forward had his partner not grabbed his arm. He looked back with a glare, but relaxed at the stern look he received in return.

"Apparently," Fushimi growled, aiming the gun at them and gesturing with it towards the two unconscious men. "Handcuff them to the bars. And make it quick, I don't have all night."

Reluctance was in every motion the two made, their movements slow despite his orders. They were careful not to move them too harshly. The one moving Mishi, the brunette that seemed in charge, had his hands cuffed behind the bars first, so Fushimi took him out first. A simple gun to the temple did the trick, and he was crumpling to the ground much like the others.

"What-?!"

The other one was down in no time at all.

By the time he had them handcuffed to the gates, and found and discarded their phones, he had already wasted way too much time. He'd have to hurry with the rest of his plan to minimize his risk of getting caught.

He barely remembered to grab a flashlight as he rushed straight to his father's car, delighted to see the driver's window busted open. He wouldn't have to pick the lock, which was more luck than he'd been having. He almost ripped the door open in his haste and lit the car up, swallowing thickly at the thick stench of blood. It was soaked into the leather, a unique look that was difficult to describe. It was smeared along the door handle- he'd used a knife to open it, no way was he getting that on him- so his father had either been injured before he had reached his door or it was left by whatever had killed him. He wouldn't know without a lab, or breaking into the one that ended up analyzing the evidence, so he didn't get too caught up on it.

He went around the car the get in the passenger seat, setting the flashlight on the console to free his hands. He braced himself on the gear shifter panel, leaning down to look at the floorboard. It was also covered in dry blood, but other than a few cans of empty beer and the butts of cigarettes, there wasn't anything in sight. He spent a moment snooping through the many compartments, pausing when he reached his father's leatherbound journal. The sight caused a stone to drop in his stomach, but he knew he had to take it. He couldn't let these clowns get a hold of it. After it was secure in his backpack, he noted that his father's weapons were all accounted for- the ones he kept in his car, anyway. Maybe he'd been trying to reach one of them when he'd been killed?

"It's under the passenger seat."

He spun around in the seat, eyes widening and hand clutching the flashlight as he shined it on the figure suddenly standing behind him. A redheaded boy yelped, rubbing his burning eyes and taking a step back. He was a bit shorter than Fushimi by a few centimeters, wavy red hair reaching his shoulders, and his bright green eyes were now blinking to adjust to the sudden light. He looked about Fushimi's age, and wasn't in the uniform everyone else was in, not counting the too-huge blue jacket he'd seen every investigator thus far wearing. White jeans stood out against the dark background, half covered by the jacket the teen was swimming in, and his purple turtleneck looked thick and warm. He appeared unarmed, which was perfect for Fushimi. It wouldn't take him long to knock him out-

Wait, he'd said something.

"What?" Fushimi frowned, letting a knife fall into his free hand quite obviously.

Even in the low light, the other teen- who, now that he'd remembered what was said, had a slight accent that Fushimi couldn't place- noticed the move and was instantly fidgeting nervously, but didn't look afraid. "What you're looking for. It's under your seat."

Fushimi raised an eyebrow at him.

"They haven't searched it yet," he continued on, hand reaching up to rub the elbow on his other arm subconsciously. "Haven't had time- Ryuu's the one in charge and he's been asleep all day, and he doesn't like other people messing with his cases."

"So why are you helping me?" Fushimi asked lazily, still tensed to pounce at any sign of attack.

At this, the teen gave him a blinding smile. "I came here to solve it, of course! And I think you can help me!"

Fushimi snorted, but chose to ignore the idiotic redhead in favor of leaning down to look under his own seat, keeping a careful eye on the other. He didn't move the entire time, still looking at the knife Fushimi kept brandishing.

He found more cigarette butts than he'd seen in his life, and the smell was almost enough to make him nauseated, but the light flashed against something smooth and shiny, so he reluctantly put the flashlight down and reached in the small space to pull it out. He held it in the palm of his hand to examine it.

The claw was about half the size of his middle finger, curved and sleek black under the dried blood (that made Fushimi's nose crinkle in disgust). It looked like a regular dog's, albeit a huge one, but Fushimi knew it was no dog that killed his father.

He turned to look at the redhead sharply, making the other jerk back at the sudden movement. "How did you know this was here if it hasn't been searched yet?"

The kid opened his mouth to answer, but just as he did, the lights to the courtyard all came on at once and sirens blared. Fushimi was so startled that he didn't notice the redhead grabbing his wrist, yanking him out of the vehicle. He barely kept his grip on the claw and his knife, and was about to retaliate when he was pulled toward the gate entrance. The kid was lucky that Fushimi'd had his backpack slung over his shoulder, because if he would have left that, he'd be tearing him and this place apart. "Come on! We gotta hurry!"

Fushimi was definitely shocked. Here was this teenager the same age as him in the same place as him wanting to solve the same case as him, dressed in a single garment of the uniform of the place he'd just broken into, helping him escape. He let his legs carry him automatically, wincing at the burn in his hip, and tucked the claw in his pocket so he wouldn't lose it. He'd worked hard to find it, even if this guy had been the one to bluntly point it out.

As they passed through the gate, two things happened. The first was that the teen suddenly ground to a halt, almost causing Fushimi to run straight into his back. When he glanced at his face, he followed his gaze down to where Mishi and the brunette were still unconscious and cuffed to the gate.

"They're not dead," Fushimi snapped, and barely caught the relief in his expression before the second thing happened and brought panic right back to it.

"_Andy_!"

Both of their heads snapped around towards the building where the shout had come from. Emerging from the doors behind a few others was Kamo, terror in his voice and looking like he'd just crawled out of bed, and he froze for a single second to take in the scene before breaking out in a full-blown sprint. In seconds, he'd easily surpassed the others.

"We gotta go!" 'Andy' yelped. Fushimi didn't need to be told twice, and took the time to yank his wrist out of Andy's grip. He had no choice but to let the other join him in his escape, bursting through the trees on the other side of the street and hearing Kamo's heartbroken cries behind them.

* * *

  
An hour later, Fushimi found himself with his knife against another's throat, this time with him pinning the smaller individual to a brick wall in a desolate alley several miles away from where they'd ran.

From what he'd gathered, he had the adopted son of the third in command of the Tokyo Legal Affairs Bureau, Special Registry Department, Annex 4 in his possession, and he did not like it. One. Goddamn. Bit.

Doumyouji Andy had started talking as soon as he'd caught his breath, and Fushimi barely let him get a word out before they found themselves in this position.

"H-Hey!"

"Why the hell did you help me?" he snarled, pressing the knife against his skin hard enough to make it turn white.

"It's not what you think!" Doumyouji shouted, hands instinctively gripping the front of Fushimi's hoodie. "I really do want to work with you! I helped you, didn't I?"

"If you knew it was there- and I still don't fucking know _how_\- then why didn't you get it sooner? And why help me in the first place?"

"I told you, I wanted your help!" Even pinned to a wall at knife point, the teen still managed to look indignant. "Ryuu said you'd be back tonight and the captain was going to catch you, so I knew I wouldn't be able to get to it tonight without you getting there first, and if you found it, then it would be gone. I figured if I told you where to find it, you'd at least trust me a little bit. But you don't seem the type."

Fushimi eyed him suspiciously, drinking in every detail of the kid's face to see if he was lying. His green eyes were shining with sincerity, and he honestly seemed too stupid to be trying to trick Fushimi. Maybe he did just want to help- he already had, telling Fushimi about where the claw was.

"How did you know it was there?" he asked again, not letting his grip falter in the slightest.

Doumyouji shrugged carefully, not wanting to get accidentally cut. "I just do. I can't really tell you how. You're just going to have to trust me."

"Never," Fushimi huffed, but released him anyway and flicked his knife back up his sleeve to his harness. Once he felt it secure, he held his hand out. "Got a phone?"

"Yeah," Doumyouji brightened, letting go of Fushimi's hoodie to dig into one of the jacket's pockets. "Why do you need it, though-?"

Fushimi yanked it out of his hand and threw it onto the ground with all of his force, causing the glass, metal, and plastic to shatter and scatter across the alley.

"Hey!" Doumyouji yelped, jerking away from Fushimi and crouching over his destroyed phone, long coat fluttering behind him. It was probably Kamo's, since the older one hadn't been wearing it when Fushimi had caught that quick glance at him earlier. "That was my work phone! The captain just gave it to me not that long ago!"

"All the more reason to destroy it," he muttered, pulling his backpack around so he could open the small zipper on the side. Carefully tucking the claw into the pocket, he continued, "You're with me now, whether you like it or not, and they would have tracked you down with that. Just try to stay out of my way."

It wasn't a horrible situation. He would have the annoyance of another person to deal with, and would have to keep him from finding out what he was really looking for, but that stupid organization would be too busy looking for Doumyouji to bother with him or his father's case. They would have to stay on the move, and maybe he could stash the kid somewhere with some busy work to think he was helping while Fushimi was actually working on it, but he could more than likely keep them from getting caught.

If not, then there was always the option of using Doumyouji as a hostage.

"We've got to move," Fushimi told him, looking up at the sky and not at the dramatically weeping teen behind him. It was still incredibly dark, and the city lights were screwing with his ability to tell time, but with the help of his internal clock, he deduced it was around three in the morning (he didn't want to pull out his bulky laptop just to check the time). "This was the last place your phone was, and I'd rather them find just it and not us."

"Okay," Doumyouji sniffled, wiping his nose on his jacket sleeve as he stood up. Fushimi curled his lip. His breath was visible as he spoke, the temperature dropping as it got closer to sunrise. "You know, you're kinda mean."

"I'm mourning," he said in a noncommittal tone, adjusting the strap to his bag as he started walking, the redhead following close after.

Doumyouji giggled weakly, causing the younger to roll his eyes. "Got a funny way of showing it."

* * *

  
"What do you mean, you don't have a place to stay?"

Fushimi scowled over his noodles, stuffing them in his mouth without answering.

It had only taken about an hour of walking before Doumyouji started complaining of hunger. And the cold. And his feet hurting. And about anything else he could think of, honestly. He hadn't stopped talking the entire time, about anything and everything: Kamo, how they'd met, his early life in France, some anime he'd been watching lately. Fushimi was just about to reach his breaking point, so he'd ducked into the nearest restaurant and shoved the redhead into a booth. Maybe when he was eating, he wouldn't be able to talk.

No luck so far.

Fushimi had given him very little information when he asked question after question. Mostly about his father's case, and what he knew thus far. He seemed to be just as knowledgeable as Fushimi was, minus the bit about it not being a _technical murder_, and seemed genuinely curious and invested. Fushimi was starting to lose the suspicion he'd grown to keep close to his chest, but that didn't mean he would trust him. But when he'd asked where they were going, and Fushimi hadn't given him a straight answer, he'd pressured and pressured until Fushimi had snapped that he didn't have anywhere to go.

"Wait, so you're the 'homeless brat' Ryuu was going on about?" Doumyouji asked suddenly, somehow managing to look thoughtful as he slurped up his noodles. "He said you broke into a crime scene, and that the captain didn't even arrest you!"

Fushimi snorted, raising his cup of steaming coffee to his lips to take a sip. Normally, he wouldn't bother with breakfast, but Doumyouji had whined about having to eat alone, so he'd gotten a coffee- which he didn't mind to get, actually- and a bowl of plain, hot soba. "Had nothing to do with that prick, I'd have escaped without him 'letting' me."

"I bet!" Doumyouji grinned, not bothering to pause and chew part of his egg as he continued. Disgusting. "You've broken into Scepter 4 twice and didn't get caught once! I didn't know that was possible! I can't even manage to sneak out!"

Fushimi frowned, setting his coffee down. "Scepter 4?"

"Oh, that's what the organization's called," Doumyouji shrugged. "In slang, anyway. I don't even remember the actual name, it's so long!"

He couldn't recall where he'd heard the name before, but he'd definitely heard it in the past. He hadn't come across the alternative name in all his searching.

What other information would Doumyouji have?

He'd been surprisingly tight-lipped about 'Scepter 4' so far, only talking about his personal life (as if Fushimi actually gave a shit about any of that). Kamo this and Kamo that, but nothing about the man's work life, other than that he worked hard and efficiently on every case presented to him. He practically gushed about the captain, how he was so clever if not incredibly intimidating, and how he solved every problem he faced with graceful ease. Fushimi had reluctantly paid attention to those ramblings to gather information, but none else had been forthcoming.

"So what is it they do, exactly?" he asked, forcing his tone to remain bored and casual.

Doumyouji looked down at his bowl, chopsticks shoveling his food into his mouth. He was oddly quiet as he chewed, eyes hidden from the hair in his face. "Private work. That's all Ryuu will tell me." He lifted his head, face expressive and conveying exactly how he felt: trapped and apologetic. "I'm sorry.."

Fushimi didn't acknowledge his words, picking his coffee back up. He'd only eaten half of his noodles, but he already felt sick.

"So what's your name?" Doumyouji asked after a moment of tense silence, causing Fushimi to scowl at him. Couldn't he just shut up and let him think?

"You already know."

"Well, I guess technically," Doumyouji agreed reluctantly, looking down again at Fushimi's glare. "But I only know your surname- oh! I haven't really properly introduced myself, have I?" He held out his hand with a grin, possessing an energy no one should at dawn. "Doumyouji Andy, at your service!"

"Fushimi," he reluctantly grumbled when the kid wouldn't stop staring. The other teen put his hand down when it was obvious he wasn't going to shake it. "That's all you're getting."

"So you're going to play it that way, huh?" Doumyouji laughed, forcing more food into his mouth once he was done. "I didn't really look at the guy's family, I'll admit to that. Ryuu says I need to pay attention to details more, so I guess it's my own fault that I don't know your name. I'm sorry!"

_'Why apologize for something so stupid?'_ Fushimi thought with a tongue click. _'This guy...'_

While Doumyouji swore to get Fushimi out of his 'anti-social shell', he thought about what to do next. This kid wouldn't be able to rough it out on the streets with Fushimi, and being out in the open would lead to them being caught sooner rather than later. Staying on the move would be best, since Munakata wouldn't be expecting it, but he knew that it would only cause Doumyouji to complain even more, and he wasn't sure if he could physically take anymore. Plus, he'd have to find somewhere to research the claw he'd found, since he couldn't place it just by memory.

"You're not going to finish your soba?" Fushimi glared at the teen's frown, shoving the bowl away from himself. Normally, when people said that, they wanted what was left (how people could eat after someone else, he couldn't fathom), but Doumyouji stubbornly pushed it right back to where it had been. "You're so skinny, you need to at least finish it!"

"I'm just fine, thanks," Fushimi snapped, taking out his wallet and slapping some cash on the table. "Let's go."

"But I thought we had nowhere _to_ go." Doumyouji pouted into his empty bowl, chopsticks scraping the bottom absentmindedly. He whined wordlessly when Fushimi didn't respond verbally, instead standing stiffly and heading back out into the cold. He followed, of course, and couldn't help but pull Kamo's uniform jacket closer to himself and shiver as they started walking down the freezing street. "Fushimiiiiiiiii!"

"Do you ever shut up?" Fushimi growled, pale hands stuffed into his hoodie pocket. "We're going to a hotel, so quit your whining and walk."

This had been a _huge_ mistake.

* * *

  
".... and he's such a good cook! I think he'd be able to get even you to eat something, whether you wanna believe it or not! He wouldn't be able to resist wanting to take care of a disaster like you; he's just that kinda man!"

"Then why don't you marry him if he's that good?"

Doumyouji's mouth clicked shut loudly, face erupting in red.

In the unfortunate half a day that Fushimi had been around Doumyouji, he'd learned of the big crush the teen had on Kamo, and maybe a little of the captain, too. But definitely Kamo. Normally, Fushimi wouldn't care, but it was the only thing that got him to shut up for more than five seconds at a time, so it quickly became his favorite fact about the redhead. He, personally, couldn't see himself crushing on a father figure- just the thought made his soba almost make a reappearance- but then again, he couldn't really see himself crushing on _anyone_, so the point was moot.

Research on the claw had been slow-going the past couple of hours, a result of Doumyouji's mouth and the shitty hotspot (as opposed to the ancient motel wifi) he was using. Fushimi had taken them to the nearest motel, the redhead gawking at the amount of money he had in his possession, and dodged all sorts of personal questions on the way to their room. He'd promptly set up shop at the table and chair provided, digging out his laptop and immediately getting to work. Without preamble, Doumyouji was going on about anything and everything, and getting on Fushimi's last goddamn nerve. Useless questions about what he was doing, when they were going to solve this case, how he thought staying holed up in a motel was going to help. The only amount of silence he got was when he brought up Kamo.

"Ryuu's not ever gonna see me as anything but a kid," Doumyouji said quietly. The volume was what made Fushimi look over at him; he didn't think the boy was capable of such a low statement. When he noticed he had attention, he didn't bask in it like he had, but shrunk onto the bed. "I know it's stupid, and I _am_ just a kid so obviously nothing's going to happen, but... I can't help but be a little hopeful, you know? Like, maybe one day?"

"You're underage," Fushimi grumbled awkwardly, scowling at the sound of his own voice. He hadn't meant to interact with him, especially when he looked so sad and pathetic, and was _finally quiet_, so he turned back to his laptop. "Of course he's not going to see you that way, idiot. Unless he's a pervert like Munakata."

"Munakata-san's not a pervert!" Great, he was loud again. Good job, Fushimi. "He's definitely weird but he's not a creep! I spent the entire night with him last night while Ryuu was working and he didn't bother me at all."

"Maybe you're not his type," Fushimi sniped absentmindedly as his fingers flew across the keyboard. Nothing so far, but maybe this one website...

"Nah, he likes redheads," Doumyouji cackled. Fushimi felt like he was missing something, but didn't really care enough to think too much about it. "But you're right, the captain would want someone smart like him, like Akiyama-san-"

Fushimi frowned, eyes scanning the page as he drowned the other teen's ramblings out. It was hard to find, since the internet was more lies than truth, but there were websites out there for hunters to gather, share, and research information. Most of the monsters he'd looked at, however, didn't match what he'd found. Werewolf claws were too thick, and as previously stated, wasn't likely to have killed Niki. It was looking more and more like a skinwalker the longer he spent researching, but something just didn't sit right with him.

If it was a skinwalker, what kind of animal would it be? Obviously some sort of dog, maybe a wolf, but even then, it didn't seem to fit. It was bigger than any type of canine Fushimi had ever seen or heard of, but was definitely some sort of dog-like creature.

With a glance at the still talking redhead, he grabbed the claw and exited out of his webpage. "What do they think happened to my father?"

This shut Doumyouji up instantly, a look of concern and pity covering his youthful expression. "I'm.. not really sure. Ryuu doesn't usually bring his work home with him. I just happened to find the file while I was, uh. Well, I guess snooping," he grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "There were all sorts of reports and stuff I couldn't really understand. I've seen TV shows about people investigating crimes, but..."

Fushimi huffed when the teen trailed off. Really? He chooses now to stop talking? "But what?"

Doumyouji shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, picking at the fibers of the blanket he sat on. "Well, it wasn't really what I was expecting. They think some sort of animal did it, but they still have it classified as a murder? And Ryuu's too smart to look over something like that.. It's been bothering me ever since I found it. That's why I decided to dig into it myself!" He suddenly brightened. "I'm going to find out what all he's keeping from me!"

"Can you remember anything else?" he asked reluctantly. He didn't want to hack the place again, now that he'd done it twice. He had a feeling he would strike out if he tried a third time.

He had a fleeting, morbid thought of trading Doumyouji's safe return for Kamo's files, but pushed it to the back of his mind as a last resort.

"I think there was something about other similar cases?"

Fushimi leaned forward in interest, resting his elbow on the table as he fully faced Doumyouji. Now, this might be something. "Other cases?"

"Yeah," the redhead shrugged. "They think the same animal might have done it, I guess? But it was weird, cause some of the cases were really old. Like, _really_ old. Like, when the organization first started like 150 years ago, old." It was that old? It had never been mentioned, so Fushimi didn't know. "I _definitely_ couldn't understand that, so I kinda just-" he made a sweeping motion with his wrists. "Yeah."

Fushimi started tapping his finger on the wooden table, frown deeply etched into his features.

They knew.

He should have considered it a possibility, but it was so unlikely that he hadn't lingered on the thought long. A hunter organization? What kind of hunter would willingly team up with others? They were reclusive at best, preferring to keep to themselves and solve their own cases. Not to mention the legality of it all- did the government know? Was this their piss-poor attempt at trying to quell the monster population?

"So you have no idea what's going on?" he clarified, narrowed eyes paying close attention to the older teen.

Doumyouji shook his head, red locks swaying with the motion. "Not really, no. Ryuu won't let me see any of his work, no matter how much I ask. He won't even let me look at my own case."

"Your case?" Fushimi raised an eyebrow.

Doumyouji sighed, leaning back onto his hands and gazing up at the mustard yellow ceiling. "You know, it's not really fair to be asking all these questions without answering any of mine." Fushimi opened his mouth to respond, but Doumyouji grinned at him. "That's okay, though. I'm a lot nicer than you. So I'll tell you if you tell me why we're here!"

Fushimi pinched the bridge of his nose, looking down at the ugly green carpet. "Nevermind-"

"No, no, I'll tell you!" Doumyouji interrupted, waving his arms around like a moron. "And you can just tell me what our next move is? You haven't told me anything yet." At this, he pouted.

Fushimi sighed heavily, opening his palm and looking down at the claw in his hand. Doumyouji had actually asked a very good question. What was his next move? The crime scene yielded nothing, and he'd wasted his hacking chances with breaking in to get to his father's car (which had been a priority over Scepter 4's files, since Fushimi had no reason to believe they were _hunters_). He cast a brief glance at his backpack where his father's journal was, but went back to looking at the claw. No way was he opening that can of worms so soon after what had happened. He'd just have to work this case like it was a skinwalker (which was just _fantastic_, given how many enemies his father had, human and monster, when he'd been alive). Doumyouji, apparently, was more clueless than he'd originally thought, since he'd been living with hunters for months without figuring anything out. He could tell him, but hated to deal with the freak-outs that always followed, so he decided against it. Which meant he'd have to keep him in the dark while he worked.

Doumyouji yawned, the sound amplified by the silence of the room. "You don't know, do you?"

"I'm working on it," Fushimi snapped, glaring heavily at the unaware teen. He'd eagle-spread on the bright orange bedspread, face vacant and staring up at the ceiling. "I'm not hearing you suggest any bright ideas."

"So you are just a kid," Doumyouji laughed, grin big on his face. "You act like such a grumpy, wise old man that I was starting to wonder!" He sat up on the bed, his grin softening into a smile. "It's okay, I can just go ahead and tell you if you want. Since you're, you know." He started to giggle again. "Mourning."

  
Fushimi just glared at him.

"Okay, okay." At least he was starting to get nervous around him. He didn't like how 'buddy-buddy' this kid was with him. "Well, you know I grew up a little in France. When I came here with my actual dad, he didn't enroll me in school or anything, so I just had to learn the language as I went." Ah, so that's why he was such an idiot. "The captain hired a tutor for me once Ryuu told him about me, so I don't have that much trouble anymore.

"Anyway," he continued, hopefully about to get back on topic. Fushimi only wanted to know about his case, but Doumyouji had such a big mouth that it was no surprise he'd ramble on about useless things. "I guess my dad decided he didn't want me anymore, so he.." His face scrunched up, not looking the least bit troubled and instead wearing a perplexed expression. "Well, he did something to me. I can't really describe it. It's gonna sound really weird, but.. I saw a flash of light, and then I had the worst headache of my life! I curled up on the ground; it was all I could do, and he apparently left, cause when I woke up, I was with Ryuu."

Well, that was something. Was Doumyouji's father a witch? Did he put a spell or curse on him?

"I know, it's stupid," the redhead laughed sheepishly, not giving Fushimi much time to think about it. "Doesn't make sense. But they opened a case to try and find him, get him for child abandonment or whatever. I wanted to see how close they were to finding him, so I could ask him what that was all about, but with how protective Ryuu is of me, I don't think it's going to happen. He's hid the file pretty good. It's what I was looking for when I came across your dad's. Guess he wasn't the best dad either, huh?"

Fushimi snorted. Doumyouji had no idea.

"I'll take that as a yes," Doumyouji giggled, kicking his legs back and forth. It was making an annoying, repetitive thumping sound almost echo in the otherwise silent room. "Either way, it sucks to be on your own now. I had Ryuu to help me, but you don't seem to have anyone..."

"I don't need anyone." Fushimi clicked his tongue. "I would have been just fine if you hadn't shown up."

While Doumyouji had given him plenty of insight to Scepter 4, and even a bit of information on his father's case, he would have been just fine without it, and would have probably figured it all out eventually. Pretty much all he did was dig for information, case after case after case. Which was looking more and more like what he'd have to do with his father's, starting with tracking down just what 'similar cases' Doumyouji was talking about-

Fushimi's laptop pinged.

His eyes darted to his screen, a blank, bright black greeting him.

"Fuck," he snarled, slamming the screen shut in frustration and grabbing his backpack to secure the claw.

"What's wrong?" Doumyouji asked, barely getting the question out before he was yelping as Fushimi drug him to his feet and towards the door. "Hey, your laptop-!"

"Is staying right there," he growled, yanking the door open with his free hand and carefully peering around the frame. When there was no one within sight, he made a b-line for the inner city, grip almost painfully tight on the other teen's wrist as they exited the motel room. "Your stupid _captain_ put a bug in my system. If they're not already here, they're on their way."

Doumyouji let out a whine, but kept pace with him easily enough. "So we're back out in the cold? I was just about to take a nap!"

Fushimi didn't have a reply that didn't involve making the idiot cry, so he kept his mouth shut and his senses on his surroundings. Doumyouji wasn't too concerned by the consequences of getting caught since he was a teenager who'd gotten himself kidnapped, but Fushimi had committed... well, a good chunk of crimes (including said kidnapping), so the problem was a little more serious for him. He was cursing himself for not taking the measures to prevent this, even though he had no reason to believe they could hack him back. Sure, they had good security, but he'd been up against worse and nothing like this had ever happened.

"Andy!"

The noise sent a jolt straight to Fushimi's stomach, and he turned. Kamo was running down the sidewalk at least fifteen meters behind them, and he didn't realize they'd stopped moving until he tried to drag Doumyouji into a sprint at the sight and was stopped by the frozen teen. "Doumyouji!"

At Fushimi's harsh tone, the redhead snapped out of his daze and turned to look at him. He didn't say anything, just pitching forward and moving when Fushimi did like the movement was entirely instinctive.

Buildings passed in a blur around him as his feet pounded against the pavement, cursing to himself as he tried to think of somewhere to go. He wasn't as familiar with this side of the city as he would have liked to be, so he didn't want to risk running down any backstreets or alleys. As he approached a crosswalk, he saw the familiar blue of Scepter 4 employees, and cursed aloud this time while he adjusted his course to an alley, exactly where he'd been avoiding. It was either that or get ran over by a car or caught, so it wasn't a hard choice. The motion jerked Doumyouji, who cried out in slight pain and surprise, and Fushimi had to reach back with his other hand momentarily to keep the idiot from tripping over himself.

"_Andy_!" Kamo sounded closer.

Doumyouji winced.

"Keep moving, moron!" Fushimi shouted before he could hesitate, glaring straight ahead resolutely and racking his brain for anything he could remember about the city's infrastructure in the area he was. He already saw the street opening up not too far away, but beyond that? At first, he didn't know whether going right or left would be best, so when they breached the alley, almost running into a young group of teenage girls, his feet were pivoting right automatically on their own. _'Further away from Scepter 4,'_ he thought, fingers digging harshly into Doumyouji's wrist as he clenched both fists in frustration. _'I was too complacent..'_

"Fushimi!" Doumyouji yelped, but Fushimi didn't look back. "Ryuu, he's-"

"I said keep moving!" Fushimi snarled. They were going slow enough without the redhead looking behind him every five seconds, thanks to Fushimi's still injured hip. He briefly wondered what all this running would do to it, based on the pain he was feeling, but didn't care enough to linger on the thought. "Don't look back!"

He heard Kamo shout for him to stop, like that would do any good. Still, they couldn't outrun him forever, and he needed a solid plan in order to get away. The streets were crowded with work traffic, making it hard to run and avoid colliding with people, but Kamo was surely having the same problem. At least he hoped so as he shoved a middle-aged man out of his way. Crossing the street would be way too dangerous (unless a crosswalk was active if they happened upon one, but Fushimi's luck obviously wasn't that good), and he didn't want to risk going down another alley. When two investigators rounded the corner a block ahead, however, the choice was made for him, and he was once again ducking into an alley.

It proved to be a huge mistake.

He skidded to a halt, Doumyouji running straight into his back and almost knocking them both over. There, standing right in the middle of his freedom, was Munakata fucking Reisi, the brunet that he'd knocked out the previous night standing at attention to his left with a bruise on his temple and an expressionless face.

He clenched his teeth, turning to run instinctively and finding their only other exit blocked by a panting Kamo, who was drawing his gun and glaring fierce daggers at him.

With a click of his tongue, he schooled his own expression. In one smooth motion, he placed them all in his sight by turning his back towards the wall just underneath a fire escape (a possible getaway should things turn south, if he could get to it), yanked Doumyouji in front of him, covered his mouth with his hand, and drew a knife to hold it to the shorter teen's neck. It hadn't even been twenty-four hours and he was _already_ taking another hostage.

"Andy!" Kamo shouted again, like the teen's name was the only word he knew, and raised his gun to point at them. "Let him go, now!"

Fushimi could feel Doumyouji's heart beating rapidly where their back and chest met as he grinned and responded, "I'll slit his throat before I do that."

"There's no need for that," Munakata's smooth voice interjected, causing the teen to frown. When he moved closer, Fushimi pressed the knife tighter against Doumyouji's skin, halting the captain in his tracks. "I'm sure this is all just one big misunderstanding, correct?"

Doumyouji's voice was muffled under Fushimi's hand, and he drew a little blood to successfully keep him from talking. One reason being he didn't need the idiot telling them they were working together, since his chances of escaping- fleeting as they appeared- were increased if they thought the redhead was his hostage. Another reason being to keep him from slobbering all over him. "Sure."

"Captain," Kamo said warningly, his entire body stiff and frozen in place. Fushimi noticed that no other's had joined them.

"It's alright, Kamo-kun," Munakata smiled, and the next words he said prompted a scowl from the teen. "Fushimi-kun is quite the intelligent one. I'm sure he's weighed his options accordingly."

"I'm sure you have, too," he muttered darkly. "And the only option involving Kamo Ryuuhou's precious charge keeping his head is if you let me go. I'm sure he's not too eager to lose anymore family."

"Just you?" Munakata asked before Kamo could react, and although he made himself sound surprised, Fushimi knew the tone wasn't genuine.

It made him click his tongue. "You can have him. He's a nuisance."

"Then just give him to us," the brunet stated in an even tone, hand held out like Fushimi was just going to pick the other teen up and place him in his palm. He should know better than to even try, given their last exchange.

"Get out of my way," Fushimi countered, "and I will. And call off your dogs, too, while you're at it."

"Are you sure that's all you want?" Munakata asked. Yes, Fushimi was certain that this time he _was_ teasing him.

"You expecting me to beg for my father's case files?" Fushimi laughed sarcastically, tilting his head slightly and pulling the redhead closer to him. "I already got plenty of information out of this one." He directed his gaze to Kamo, leering at the tall male. Usually, a tactic like this worked. "Would you like to know how?"

Kamo's shaky grip tightened on his gun, face impossibly enraged further at his words. "You-!"

"Calm yourself, Kamo-kun," Munakata ordered evenly, and Fushimi frowned again when Kamo took a deep breath and obeyed. Looked like Munakata had a tighter leash on his dogs than he'd thought; any member of the standard police would have already been either charging at him or complying with his demands. "Patience is important in situations like these."

"Well, I don't have all day, so you better be making a decision quick," Fushimi drawled, tilting his knife so the sharp tip was pressing against the soft part of the bottom of Doumyouji's chin. The teen started to tremor. "I can cut his tongue out from here. Really, I'd be doing us all a favor."

"I'm sure you'll find the mess to be less than worth it," Munakata spoke like he hadn't just threatened to cut out a fifteen-year-old's tongue. If they really were hunters, he'd seen worse things, but he had at least expected a reaction based on the fact it was his subordinate's 'kid'. "I would much rather talk under different circumstances, but you've forced my hand, Fushimi-kun."

Before Fushimi could respond, he felt a stinging pain in his hand, and couldn't hold back the cry that escaped him as he dropped the knife. His skin throbbed, and a quick glance showed that the knife had been shot and not his hand, since he didn't see any holes or blood, but the burn that came from being around a fired bullet had startled pain shooting through his nerves nonetheless. He'd barely started to process all of this, eyes already darting between the three to see which of them had fired and halfway armed again when he heard a clanging noise above him.

_The fire escape._

He didn't even have time to look up.

Fushimi felt like he'd been tackled by a professional football player. His world tilted on its axis, Doumyouji slipping from his grasp and falling as well, and his head hit the ground hard enough to send stars dancing in his eyes. He registered a weight settling above him before he even regained his sight, and was swinging another knife wildly in that direction. The weight disappeared, and Fushimi wasted no time in springing to a crouching position. He reached out and grabbed the closest part of Doumyouji he could find, which happened to be his bright red locks of hair, and yanked hastily to get his body shield back into position, the other teen crying out as he sprawled half in his lap as a result.

"Akiyama-kun, please keep a distance." Munakata was frowning now.

Good, they both weren't happy. "Try something like that again!" he snapped, running the knife along Doumyouji's throat shallowly, just enough to draw blood.

A man- Akiyama- was slowly backing towards Kamo, almost green hair partially covering one of the dark, wide eyes staring at Fushimi in astonishment. Kamo was practically vibrating, and barely seemed to calm down when Akiyama placed a steady hand on his shoulder and apologized in a hushed voice. Doumyouji was shaking similarly in Fushimi's grasp, whimpering in pain and hands gripping the sleeve to his arm that was holding the knife. Once he thought Doumyouji could do it, he started standing slowly, having to half-haul the teen with him. "You don't seem to think I'm serious. Maybe I will remove his tongue!"

"I am sorry to have deceived you, Fushimi-kun," Munakata apologized, his genuine tone causing him to grit his teeth. "I cannot allow harm to come to Doumyouji-kun, however. If you would be so kind as to return him, I'm sure we can come to an agreement on how to proceed."

Fushimi eyed him warily, risking a glance above him; no one was there, not that he really expected them to try the same trick twice. He definitely didn't trust them not to just rush him and 'arrest' him- or whatever _professional hunters did_\- so his grip on Doumyouji never slacked in the slightest. He voiced his thoughts, "Surely you don't think I'm that stupid. You've already tried to catch me off guard once, you're obviously not going to let me go that easily." _'There's always a catch.'_

Munakata gave him an enigmatic smile. "If you were the slightest less intelligent, I'd have no trouble fooling you. Once again, you're proving yourself to be quite the formidable, if not unnecessary, opponent. Why have you sworn yourself to adversary?"

"What, you wanna hold hands and work together?" Fushimi laughed, backing away further to gain his original distance back. The fall had knocked him closer to the captain. "Even if I thought you were capable of keeping up, I don't need anyone's help-"

"It isn't a skinwalker."

Fushimi's mouth clicked shut.

Munakata continued smiling, not at all bothered by Fushimi's stunned silence and Doumyouji's confused sound. "That's your main suspect, correct? We had reason to believe that's what it was, as well. Your claw there-" Fushimi couldn't help but shift to keep the valuable piece of evidence hidden from view, even though it was safely tucked away in his bag. How did he know he had a claw? Did he seriously hack into Fushimi's webcam? _'What a creep.'_ "- doesn't belong to a skinwalker, however. I'm sure you thought as much, too."

"... I'm listening," he said reluctantly, pressing the tip of his knife under Doumyouji's chin again when the redhead started to speak. "Shh, the adults are talking."

"I'm afraid I cannot give you anymore information than that." The captain didn't sound too remorseful despite his words. "I will need Doumyouji-kun for that."

"And I said you're not getting him unless you let me go," Fushimi growled, losing more and more patience the more he had to repeat himself. He cast a glare at Akiyama and Kamo, who were slowly closing in on him, and drew more blood from Doumyouji to make them stop. He was letting himself get distracted by Munakata; he'd have to be more vigilant.

"Fushimi," Doumyouji croaked, fingers digging into his arm, "you wo-"

"Shut up!"

Fushimi could hear Kamo's teeth grinding together from where he was, given how quiet the alley now was. He barely spared the two any attention, eyes never leaving Munakata's steady gaze. The seconds stretched on, making Fushimi more tense and wonder if he was going to have to actually act on his bluff, but a sudden chuckle from the man halted his thoughts. "You've exceeded my expectations once again, Fushimi-kun. I shouldn't be as surprised as I am, given the prestigious hunting clan you originated from and who your father was-"

"Don't compare me to that trash," he snapped before he could reign in his temper, yanking Doumyouji's hair to make the skin at his throat more taut. "You're making me angry.."

"My apologies." Munakata held a hand to his chest, bowing his head slightly. "Forgive me for such an insensitive statement. Given your relationship with him, I'm sure the topic is a sore spot for you."

It was around this time that Fushimi realized that he was buying time once again. _'For what?'_ he thought wildly, eyes once again darting to every visible spot someone else could be in or hide behind. He found himself looking back up at the fire escape, judging whether he could make the jump or not quickly. It would be tough, since his hip was still in rough shape, but he could probably manage it. What he would do once he got up there remained to be seen, but it was better than staying in this situation any longer.

_'Calm down, he's making you panic.'_ With a deep breath, Fushimi focused back on his opponents, but it was too late.

Kamo and Akiyama had managed to get within range of them, and the green haired man was suddenly gripping his wrist tightly. He immediately let go of Doumyouji to counter, which gave Kamo the opening he'd apparently been waiting for to rip the other teen away from him, and simultaneously clawed at Akiyama's wrist and kicked out at his knee with his foot. The kick was more successful, causing him to fall to his knees, but his grip on his wrist didn't falter. If the younger had been less prepared, he would have been jerked down with him, but he kept his feet firmly planted on the ground when the man tugged.

He felt the wind almost knocked out of him when there was suddenly a weight colliding with his back, knocking his perfect stance off balance. He fell into Akiyama's lap, causing the man to hit the ground hard in his place, but even if his landing was cushioned, it was hardly ideal; he was now pinned between Akiyama and the brunet that he hadn't realized had moved, his wrist was still held with bruising intent, and he had strong arms wrapped around his waist to keep him securely in place.

"Fushimi!" he heard Doumyouji shout worriedly, but was too concerned with trying to wiggle out of the two men's grasps to pay him any mind.

He knew he'd lost when Akiyama managed to get a cuff around his wrist, but this just made him fight harder. He'd just managed to get another knife into his free hand when his other wrist was grasped, this time by the brunet, and he cried out in wordless rage. His mind was racing to try and find a way to break the hold; he was obviously not going to win a battle of strength against the two, even one would have been a challenge for him. Akiyama wretched his cuffed arm behind his back, managing to lift himself to a sitting position. It pushed Fushimi further back against the brunet, trapping his arm between them, and there wasn't anything stopping the green haired hunter from grabbing his other arm and helping the other man get it behind his back as well. He wiggled as much as he could, trying to throw either of them, but it was all in vain. The brunet sealed away his freedom with a _clink_, his other wrist finally captured in the other side of the handcuffs.

"Fushimi, are you okay?!" Doumyouji exclaimed. When Fushimi was yanked up in a kneeling position, the two backing off but holding his biceps to keep him in place, he saw that the redhead was holding his sluggishly bleeding neck and leaning into a tight embrace from Kamo. He glared at him, making the older teen grimace.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to come with us," the brunet informed him, pulling him to his feet.

_'No shit,'_ he thought spitefully, staring intensely at the captain as he approached them primly.

"Now that that's out of the way, we can get to the bottom of this situation. Don't you think, Fushimi-kun?"

Fushimi glared at him one last time before he was led away, staying completely silent.

* * *

  
Scepter 4, just as Fushimi had predicted, was as fancy on the inside as it was on the outside. The interior was littered with sigils and painted traps, further solidifying them as a hunting organization. He kept close watch to where they were taking him, already starting to plan his escape before they'd even gotten him to wherever they were taking him. If that bastard thought he was just going to lay down and take this, he was severely mistaken. He started to glare, but schooled his expression once again to keep his thoughts hidden. So far, he'd managed to unnerve the two escorting him- finally learning that the brunet's name was Benzai- with his silence, and wasn't going to let them see how much the situation was truly getting to him.

He'd been caught by the police a time or two, but always managed to make it out unscathed. They were easy to trick and even easier to out-smart, so he never spent more than an hour or two in their custody. Something told him he'd have a harder time getting away from Scepter 4, and not just because they knew the supernatural existed.

There weren't as many hunters as he was expecting, but he didn't really know what he was expecting to begin with. If they were worth anything, they'd be out on hunts, like Fushimi _should_ be. But instead, he was being led deeper and deeper into the building, descending flight after flight of stairs. _'Just how far down does this damn place go?'_ he couldn't help but think, his chance of escape getting lower and lower the further down they went. _'It's gonna be a bitch to climb this shit.'_

The marble steadily turned to stone, and the lights got dimmer. Fushimi was starting to get the impression that he was being led to a dungeon.

It ended up not being that far off from one. The cells looked closer to something in a middle age videogame or anime than real life, but he found himself faced with a medieval cell nonetheless. Benzai opened the door, face still lacking expression like he hadn't just caught the teenager who'd knocked him out cold the night before, and Akiyama's gentle nudge to get him inside was a far cry to the force he'd used when taking him down in the alley.

He tensed when they shut the door behind him and Akiyama's hand lingered on his arm. "You know we're going to have to search you for weapons."

Fushimi snarled wordlessly, jerking away from him. Like hell he was letting them touch him anymore than they already had. It was bad enough he had to deal with their hands on his arms.

"That's not necessary," Munakata's voice suddenly came from the closed door, that was now opening to reveal the tall man's elegant stature.

"Captain?" Akiyama asked incredulously, his partner simply blinking to show his surprise.

"I'm sure restraining him to the table will do just fine," the hunter continued, closing the heavy door once he crossed the threshold. "He won't be able to gain access to them. My apologies, I simply couldn't wait to question this particular capture." He smiled happily. "The longer I wait, the more time he has to plan his escape."

Fushimi scowled at him as Akiyama led him to the table, sitting him down while Benzai uncuffed one wrist. He immediately shook a knife into it, breaking the man's hold and rearing back to aim at the captain. Akiyama moving to hold him down and Benzai grabbing his already outstretched forearm was the only thing that kept the knife from reaching its mark. It flew past the unflinching Munakata, landing in the wooden door with a solid _thunk_.

_'Damn'_ he seethed as his face was smushed against the wooden table and his wrist was secured to it with the cuff. _'If I had injured him, they would have scrambled.'_

"Captain, are you sure it's wise to not search him first?" Akiyama asked warily, he and Benzai releasing the teen at a hand wave from Munakata.

"Of course," he replied easily, approaching the other side of the table without an ounce of fear towards the one who'd almost impaled his shoulder. "We wouldn't want to make Fushimi-kun uncomfortable."

Like he was _at all_ comfortable in this situation.

"I believe that will be all, gentlemen," Munakata told them, getting twin bows in response.

"If you're certain," Akiyama replied hesitantly as they headed to the door, sparing them a glance before Benzai closed the door and blocked his sight.

Locked in a room with Munakata Reisi was the last place Fushimi wanted to be right now, but there wasn't anything he could do about it at the moment. There was no other seat, but that didn't surprise Fushimi- it was an intimidation tactic, making the one standing seem superior and in control. It didn't work on him, since he was well aware of the psychological gameplay, so he kept his face carefully blank.

His expression faltered, however, when Munakata came to his side of the table, body tensing when he leaned over him and placed a hand on the cuffs-

_Click._

Fushimi lifted his free wrists in shock, looking up at the retreating man. _'Why did he-?'_

"I told you, Fushimi-kun," Munakata said as he rounded the table to his original position between him and the door, tucking his hands behind his back. He hadn't seen him with a key, but he must have used one. "I would like you to be comfortable."

Fushimi clicked his tongue, but kept his sarcastic response to himself. It was best to remain silent in times like these.

"Now, I would first like to apologize for the harm my men have brought to you. I hope your hip isn't bothering you too much, along with your head." How did he know his hip was injured? Fushimi had been actively trying to conceal his slight limp, but he should have known it would be hard to hide anything from this man. "I've been meaning to revise the training program, but there hasn't been an intruder in quite a while that more pertinent matters took priority. The Scepter 4 infirmary is at your full discretion once I have finished conducting your interview."

"Some interview this is," Fushimi muttered, rubbing his wrists out of habit. "Why the hell do you have a dungeon? You're more perverted than I thought."

This prompted a chuckle from the unflappable captain. "I'm sure someone like you would see it that way, yes. However, this is the best way to interrogate supernaturals. All around you is holly wood, a natural deterrent, with iron bars and hinges to keep them secure. A standard prison wouldn't last."

That... was actually a good explanation, but it was still weird. If they really did bring monsters down here for 'interrogations', the holly wood would cause them to be itchy and tense, a good state of mind for them to be questioned. Thankfully, it didn't have an affect on him, since he was human, but he couldn't help but feel a bit put-off and trapped. Probably because something like this had never happened to him before. "Whatever. Now that you've let me go, what's to stop me from just attacking you and escaping?"

This time, Munakata laughed fully. "You're welcome to try if you like." Once again, his tone was sincere, and it made Fushimi pause to actually contemplate it. It was clear that Munakata was confident in his ability to keep him there, and while he normally would be confident in his own ability..

This guy had gotten him every time.

Crossing his arms over his chest, he decided to wait for a better opportunity. One always presented itself, he just had to keep an eye out for it. "What do you want?"

"I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet," he replied, not sounding the least bit surprised.

Fushimi grabbed the strap to his backpack that they hadn't taken, pulling it off his shoulder and into his lap. He didn't look in it. "What's stopping you from taking it by force? You had the chance to earlier."

"I'd much rather you decide to work with me willingly," Munakata answered honestly. Fushimi knew he was being honest, and yet still found himself hesitant to trust what he said fully. "A hunter of your caliber would be an excellent addition to my organization."

Fushimi couldn't help but snort. "So you hack my laptop, ambush me, and drag me by force to, what, a job interview?"

"Precisely."

Fushimi shook his head at the notion. "You're insane. Is that how you hired all your other subordinates?"

"Not exactly," he answered easily.

When he couldn't take the silence stretching on in a seemingly endless cycle in the tense atmosphere, he cleared his tight-feeling throat and glared at the older hunter. "What, am I supposed to ask your questions for you, too? If you're really going to let me go after this, then get on with it so I can leave already."

Without hesitating, the captain was speaking. "Our organization is one of the oldest in Japan, though it was unofficial until about two centuries ago. We have an extensive collection of knowledge that would be at your full disposal should you decide to work with us, as well as a top of the line lab with technology specifically engineered for hunting supernaturals. It goes without saying that this would be useful to your hunt for your father's killer."

Yeah, it really did. Especially now that he was down a laptop. Fushimi glared down at the table and considered his options. For him to break out of here.. It would require a good amount of effort and planning on his part, and while he'd done more on less sleep, it was still starting to catch up with him in a way that was all too familiar- his thoughts were sluggish and not as cohesive as usual, though that could also be easily explained by the blow to the head he'd taken when tackled by Akiyama. He also wasn't in the best physical shape. He would have to leave whenever Munakata permitted him to, as much as he hated it, but could pretend to remain complacent until after he'd examined the claw in their lab. If he played along, it would be easier to get away if he could catch them with their guard down, so faking his alliance with them would buy him time until an escape opportunity presented itself.

"And all you want out of this is me working for you?" he couldn't help but ask. Munakata had been upfront about everything he'd told him, if not sneaky and manipulative, but he wanted to gauge his reaction as he answered.

His expression remained open and honest. "Yes."

Fushimi hummed, unzipping his bag and pulling the claw out. "Well, guess I can't really refuse, huh? Now, where's this lab you think so highly of?"

* * *

  
The captain was a _liar_.

Oh, he still assured Fushimi that he could use the lab, sure, but had insisted that he go to the infirmary first. He'd grumbled, mostly to himself, the whole walk there, glaring at every hunter he passed. They looked at him like he didn't belong there by Munakata's side- which, he _didn't_, but whether he did or not wasn't really any of their business. Something about their looks got under his skin, settling like an antsy snake slithering its way up his spine, and made him move closer to the captain before he realized what he was doing. Once he did, he put double the distance between them. The older male didn't let on like he noticed.

As they were arriving, Akiyama was emerging from the infirmary doors rubbing his bandaged forearms, Benzai in tow (huh, Fushimi hadn't noticed that he'd cut him). When he spotted them, his eye widened, and he backed up against his companion in shock. The brunet easily steadied him. "Captain-?!"

"It's quite alright, Akiyama-kun," Munakata assured him, placing a hand on Fushimi's shoulder. He instantly shook it off, glaring at the appendage like it had scalded him. "Fushimi-kun has decided to join us instead of fight against us. I must say, he's put up more of a fight than the normal hunters whose cases we take. Don't you think he'd make a wonderful addition?"

"Yes, sir," Benzai answered for his still shocked partner, nudging the life back into the green haired hunter.

"R-Right," he stuttered, averting his gaze to the floor when Fushimi glared at his look. "I.. trust your judgement, Munakata-san."

"As I would expect from my loyal second in command," Munakata stated, throwing praise out again like it was candy at a parade. Akiyama flushed slightly and bowed, both departing shortly after.

The doctor also seemed put off by his unrestrained presence once they were inside, but when Munakata didn't acknowledge her concern, she went about her business as normal. She kept her questions professional up until she was examining him for a concussion. "You've given me a lot of business lately, kid. I can't believe someone so young has cut up so many people. Follow my finger, please, and don't move your head."

Fushimi clicked his tongue at her, but did as he was told even though he knew he didn't have a concussion. He'd hit the ground hard enough to bruise his pale skin, but not enough to make his brain bleed.

"Well, you're not going to die from bleeding, but you're obviously exhausted. You look like you haven't slept in a week."

"I'm mourning." The sarcastic reply was escaping before he even realized it, and got a weird look this time around.

"Either way, you're going to have to rest eventually. And take better care of your hip; if you keep neglecting it, it'll get infected." She waved a hand towards one of the other curtains through his own, like they were supposed to protect his privacy or something. "Now, before I'm officially discharging you, you're going to apologize to that poor boy. You've really upset him."

It took an embarrassingly long amount of time for Fushimi to figure out that she was talking about Doumyouji, and when he did, he scoffed. "Yeah, sure."

"I mean it," she glared, barely faltering when Fushimi glared right back. "You did a number on his neck, and with how careless he already is, he'll be lucky if it doesn't scar. Not to mention how upset he is about the whole thing."

"He's just upset that his perfect boyfriend kept shit from him," he muttered sourly, directing his nasty gaze to Munakata when the man simply chuckled.

"You started it." She really was insistent, wasn't she? "Now go on, shoo. You need to go and rest, we don't have all day."

Fushimi growled as he scooted off of the bed, slamming his feet down with more force than necessary. He knew it made him look more like a sullen child, but couldn't help but let his frustration bleed out in small actions. He yanked his curtain open, stomping to the only other closed off bed, giving that curtain the same treatment as his own.

Probably not the smartest move, given that the last Kamo had heard, he was a prisoner to their little organization.

The man's eyes had widened, narrowing just as quickly as he stood, hand reaching for something Fushimi couldn't see.

"Fushimi!" Doumyouji shouted, tear tracks visible on his freckled skin, but smile still stubbornly etched on his features. He still had a bit of blood on his now stained turtleneck, the only thing pristine white that he wore being the neatly wrapped bandages around his neck. He was still drowning in Kamo's Scepter 4 jacket, the fabric unbuttoned, but pulled tight around him regardless. He waved cheerily, the sleeve falling down his arm halfway when he raised it. "I'm glad you're here, Kamo won't believe me, which is rude since I've believed him so far!"

Both Fushimi and Kamo looked at him in confusion, but Fushimi's was mostly irritation. "What the hell are you going on about?"

"He thinks you hurt me on purpose, and a lot more than you did," the redhead shrugged, like he wasn't talking about the bodily harm cast upon him. "You just did it cause you got cornered and needed an out. He doesn't think you're my friend!"

"I'm not," he huffed, crossing his arms and ignoring the pout sent his way. "You were in the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught up in something you clearly had no understanding of. That's his fault, not mine." Fushimi could feel the doctor's glare.

Kamo lowered his head, looking properly chastised by a teenager and not angry, for once. "It's true. Andy, I'm sor-"

"If you tell me sorry one more time, I'm gonna lose it, Ryuu!" Doumyouji shouted suddenly, cheerful demeanor replaced by a scowl. It looked out of place on his features. "I'm mad you kept this from me, but this is what I wanted. I _wanted_ to figure this out, so you can't act like this when I finally do. It's like you're taking something else from me."

It was a surprisingly adult statement from the normally childish teen, and he'd once again shocked the two into silence. Fushimi felt a little awkward at the tension this created between the two, glancing at the doctor and Munakata when neither males would break eye contact with one another. The doctor made another shooing motion with her hands, and Munakata gave him a rather annoyingly supportive smile, so he rolled his eyes and decided to get this all over with. "Well, anyway, I. Uh."

Shit, he'd never realized how hard it was to apologize to someone, especially since he _didn't want to in the first place_.

"Not you, too!"

Fushimi looked back up at Doumyouji, not even realizing he'd looked down at the floor, to be met with the redhead's fierce glare he'd given to Kamo.

"I expected more from you, Fushimi!" he continued, waggling his finger at him. "It was my choice to go with you. I knew it was dangerous! I knew what I could be getting into! I went anyway because I wasn't going to sit around like a useless kid anymore!"

Fushimi looked away again, face heating up unintentionally at the passion Doumyouji spoke with. It reminded him of.. something he couldn't quite place. Something that hadn't happened yet.

_'Yet?'_ he thought, but shook it away easily. "Whatever," he grumbled aloud, shoulders slumping because of a reason he didn't know.

"There's my sulky Fushimi," Doumyouji laughed. Fushimi decided to let him get away with it, just this once, since he was injured because of him, though he couldn't stop the mean look he sent the older teen's way. "Speaking of, what are you doing here? I would have thought the captain wouldn't let you out. He seemed pretty determined to catch you."

"Good question," Kamo murmured, a suspicious look on his face.

"As of now, Fushimi-kun will be working with us here."

Fushimi couldn't help but jump when Munakata's voice came from right behind him, and once again had to put distance between them. Doumyouji's whoop of delight was drowned out by Kamo's, "Captain?!"

"Yes, Kamo-kun?"

Fushimi couldn't help the smirk that decorated his face as the older hunter struggled for words, gesturing wordlessly at the teen.

"He's mad cause he doesn't trust Fushimi," Doumyouji clarified uselessly, Kamo's emotions obvious enough without needing to be narrated. "I think it's a good idea, though! He's really smart!"

Fushimi rolled his eyes. "In comparison to you, I'm a genius." He was anyway, but wasn't the boastful type. It was implied.

"Hey!"

"Can I go now?" Fushimi asked grumpily, mind already mapping out on what to do once he reached the lab. He couldn't remember if he'd ever had unrestricted access to a lab for a hunt, and felt a bit of relief at the idea that he could work to his heart's content (if that were possible for him) on finally solving this case.

"Well.." Doumyouji scratched under his chin, pouting at Kamo when he gently smacked his hand away from his bandages. "I do have one more question."

"Andy-"

"No, I have a right to know," he interrupted Kamo. For how much he'd praised the man, he sure was being short with him, but Fushimi just figured that's how he acted when he was upset with someone. He was the type to wear his heart on his sleeve. He directed his gaze to Fushimi, managing to remain completely serious. "Would you really have done it?"

Fushimi clicked his tongue again. "What?"

"Would you really have slit my throat if you had to?" he asked without hesitation.

"Yes," he shot back with even less.

The silence that followed was oppressive. While it was the questionable truth- he probably would have, already _had_, technically, and certainly not deep enough to kill him- it felt like the wrong thing to say. Kamo was, once again, glaring at him, inching closer to Doumyouji's side. The redhead himself was just looking at Fushimi like he was a kicked puppy, brows furrowed and a sheen in his green eyes that hadn't been there before.

Munakata remained silent behind him.

Fushimi turned to leave, shouldering past the captain. "I've got work to do."

"Okay," Doumyouji mumbled with a sigh, the sad sound echoing in the room. If the doctor's look could kill, Fushimi would be a dead man walking, if he wasn't already. "Guess we aren't, then."

* * *

  
Munakata took him to the lab finally, as promised. He'd been hovering in the corner the entire time, observing his every step and move, but Fushimi could barely find himself bothered because of how much he had access to. True to his word, there were machines in there that Fushimi had never heard of and definitely didn't know how to use, though he was sure that given a few hours, he could figure them all out. To start with, he simply went to a microscope and set it up to take a closer look at the claw.

Blood was all over it. It covered more than what he'd first thought, the root of it soaked in the dry, crusty substance, so whatever it was had obviously been attacking his father so viciously that it had ripped its own claw out. It made a shudder of disgust rack his body.

Grabbing the nearest sharp, metal tool, he scraped as much of the blood at the root off as he could and brought it over to the machine that was obviously used to determine DNA. He dumped the gross rust colored lump onto a glass plate and slid it under a small, red light that was on the roof of the machine. It made a beeping noise, then started whirring, so Fushimi figured it was working. He couldn't help but glance over at Munakata, wondering if he really was doing this right, and quickly looked away at the proud smile on the captain's face. He clicked his tongue, going back to the claw and breaking a small chunk off with a small amount of difficulty.

As he was looking at the composition of the claw, his body tensed. Someone was entering his personal bubble, and he was certain it was the captain. He had been oddly quiet for someone who always bothered Fushimi with useless questions, so he supposed it was only a matter of time until he could no longer remain silent. "Are you finding anything interesting, Fushimi-kun?"

Despite knowing he was there, Fushimi just couldn't get his body to relax. His voice was closer than he'd thought it was, coming from right over his shoulder and beside his ear. He pushed himself to the right, trying to make some space, but Munakata seemed to have taken it as an invitation to lean down and look into the microscope.

Alright, maybe if he told him, he'd back off. "Well, it's not a skinwalker." _'Like you said,'_ lingered in the air despite Fushimi having no intention of saying such a statement. "When I broke it off, it would have changed the chemical composition of both pieces. But they're the same."

Because skinwalkers could shift forms at will- not shedding their cells and tissues and growing new ones like their gross cousin shapeshifters- their cells reacted a certain way when examined on a microscopic level. They went through a specific chemical reaction that was unique to the supernatural: their cells would self-destruct once damaged, choosing to halt the reproduction process in order to preserve. It caused two things to happen, the first being one of the most rapid healing rates Fushimi had ever heard of, and the second being the complete destruction of blood, lost appendages, etc. Because the claw had been intact, not just a piece, he'd thought it possible for it to be a shapeshifter.

It had almost fooled him. He wondered, for a moment, if it planned this.

"My, that's quite the technical knowledge you have there," Munakata praised, finally backing off. Fushimi released a silent breath that had stalled in his chest. "Most unprofessional hunters lack a complete understanding of what they face."

"Yeah, well, that's why most hunters end up dead, too," he couldn't help but snark, leaning back down to look at the claw further. It wasn't a skinwalker, so just what the hell was it? He'd like to be able to find it out before Munakata's stupid machine did. "Which reminds me.. If I'm going to be working here, I should know the turnover rate. Just how many of your employees get killed here annually?"

"Less than three percent."

Fushimi didn't even look up at him. "Is that with everyone that works here or just the hunters?"

"Nothing gets past you Fushimi-kun." The smile was obvious in the captain's voice. "Out of 212 employees, only ninety-two are hunters."

"So it's actually five percent," Fushimi drawled, backing off from the microscope and adjusting his glasses. "You know, if you keep trying to fool me, I'm going to have to leave. It's really annoying."

"But it's a wonderful source of entertainment for myself," Munakata replied. When Fushimi looked up, the older hunter was still too close for comfort, but his presence wasn't as suffocating as it had been. "If you insist on an end to it, I won't try again. I simply can't help but see if you're as smart as you seem, and I haven't been disappointed yet."

"So you're testing me, huh?" Fushimi grinned, hand itching to grab the claw and run, screw waiting for the DNA test. "I'm not above a job interview, after all."

"I wouldn't call it that. It's more of a trial period."

"You don't trust me."

"You certainly don't trust me," Munakata countered, placing a hand on his chest. Somehow, the move seemed more for show than actual offense. "We only have ourselves to blame for that, I'm afraid. However, I do intend to keep up my end of our little bargain. I would like you to keep that in mind with any decisions you should make."

"I'll be sure to do just that," Fushimi sarcastically mocked him, eyes straying towards the machine that was still letting out periodic beeps. "When is that thing going to be done, anyway? I thought you said this was all 'top of the line'."

"It should be any minute now," Munakata informed him, lips quirking as he turned away. That wasn't a smile- was he seriously smirking at him? "Impatient, aren't we?"

"I'm mourning." The lie seemed to stick to his tongue the more he said it, words oppressively clogging his throat tightly shut. He steadfastly denied any truth to them. It seemed necessary to remind the cheeky bastard, though, exactly why he was here, and what case he was working.

Munakata just laughed like he thought the whole thing was hilarious, and Fushimi didn't get the chance to give the bastard a real reason to laugh.

_Beepbeep._

Fushimi couldn't get away from the other hunter and to the machine quick enough.

The blood sample was completely gone when he saw the glass, but he didn't dwell on the fact too long. The screen lit up blue, the obnoxious color bringing a stinging sensation to Fushimi's eyes, and he blinked rapidly in order to be able to read the results. The words 'printing results' popped up, and he heard a machine being activated to his left. So it was remotely connected to the printer in the corner, and apparently only able to print results, not display them. What a pain. He rolled his eyes when he saw Munakata already there and holding the papers, feet carrying him swiftly towards him and hands snatching the papers out of the captain's.

The first page was just technical garbage about how much of the sample there was, what kind it had been, how many hits of DNA there had been, and the conclusion that this case was connected to the others like Doumyouji had said. The next page was one of the DNA results: his father. It included his incredibly long arrest record, some crimes consistent with being a hunter and others... Well, it attested to his character. Fushimi couldn't hold back the sneer when he skimmed over his picture, the happy grin plastered with ink on the page and branded in his brain with fire. He didn't linger long on the page.

The third and final page started with the word '_hellhound_' and he cursed aloud.

He skimmed through all of the information available on the page before turning to Munakata, who, for someone who'd went straight to the printer for the results, didn't seem eager at all to know what was printed. Fushimi was sure that he hadn't gotten to look at the third page before he got over there.

"That pesky hellhound has caused this organization quite the headache."

Or, maybe he had? No, Munakata just _knew_.

"If you knew, why not just tell me?" Fushimi couldn't help but growl. The captain had done nothing but lie and waste his time since they'd had the misfortune of meeting.

"Can you honestly say that you would have been satisfied with my word?"

No, actually, he couldn't. If Munakata had told him, he wouldn't have believed him, and probably wouldn't have pursued the lead out of spite (until he got desperate, that is). "And what, you just happened to have the foresight for this?"

"I did."

Fushimi clicked his tongue, looking back down at the paper. "Bullshit. Only people who know what's going to happen are the clairvoyants, psychics, and cursed. You one of those?"

Munakata chuckled again. Nothing seemed to put him in a bad mood, not that Fushimi wasn't going to still try. "Of course not."

So he was just that smart, then. Fushimi would have to keep that in mind for when they crossed paths again- _'If,'_ he stubbornly thought, folding the papers distractedly and stuffing them into his backpack. "Well, you can have the claw, I'm done with it."

"What will your next move be, Fushimi-kun?" Munakata asked, following at a close distance when Fushimi started heading for the exit.

He turned to glare at the older hunter as he opened the door. "I don't see how that's any of your business."

"It is when I'm your new boss," he replied smugly, smile just as wide when Fushimi's look increased in fury and intensity. "I should hope you're going to the dorms. The doctor will be displeased with me if I allowed you to go out in your condition."

"What condition? I'm fine," Fushimi snapped, hand covering his hip. "And if I was to be in 'bad condition', whose fault would that be, hm?"

"Entirely my own," Munakata agreed, but didn't sound as guilty as Fushimi would have liked to trick him to be. "And I will continue to accept responsibility for your well-being. Starting with not over-working you on your first day."

Fushimi couldn't help but click his tongue. "Do you have his phone?" he changed the subject suddenly, not even trying to analyze the captain's caring words.

"It's still in the custody of the civilian police." He didn't miss a beat replying where others would have faltered. "With all the excitement pertaining to Fushimi Niki's car, and then with Doumyouji-kun running away, poor Kamo-kun hasn't had the chance to get it from them yet."

Despite there being no inflection to his speech, Fushimi knew he was casting accusation at him subtly. He dodged it easily. "I'm going to need it."

"I'll get right on that." Munakata gestured in front of him, causing Fushimi to blink and focus back on his surroundings. Talking with the captain took up a surprising amount of concentration, so he hadn't noticed where they were going or that they had stopped until Munakata himself had indicated it. They were just outside a plain looking door compared to the rest of the building, no number or anything to hint at what it was. "In the meantime, please take this as an opportunity to rest. Doumyouji-kun informed me that you two had been up all night and day; surely you're tired."

Fushimi narrowed his eyes at him, then took a moment to examine the outside knob. There didn't seem to be any external lock, so unless they barricaded the door, they weren't planning on locking him in. He doubted they would have let him out of that stupid dungeon just to put him somewhere else, but he couldn't shake the instinct to check. He twisted the handle and opened the door, scoping out the room before turning on the light. It was bare, with only a sheetless bed in the corner and an empty desk taking up the carpeted floorspace, and the blue- _of course they were blue_\- walls only stopped for a single window above the desk and a closed closet to his right. He didn't notice he'd stepped into the room until he felt his exit being cut off by the captain standing in the doorway and quickly turned towards him.

"I'll send someone by with some linens, please do try to get comfortable."

Fushimi didn't know what to say, so he didn't say anything as Munakata shut the door. He immediately flicked the lock.

* * *

  
"Hey, what are you doing there?!"

Fushimi didn't look up from the screen, left hand idly typing a few stray commands alone since his right was too busy lazily holding up his head by his chin. "Using the computer, what does it look like?" He didn't have to be looking to know Akiyama was frowning.

After a few meager hours of restlessly tossing and turning in this unfamiliar environment, he'd finally given up on sleep and decided to test his newfound freedom to roam Scepter 4 as he pleased. Munakata seemed to be placing a lot of trust in him, and Fushimi had a feeling that as long as he didn't hurt anyone else, he was free to use their resources as much as he wanted. Technically speaking, he had no obligation to stay here- just a verbal agreement with someone that he was debating whether to follow through with or not- but he stuck around to see if Munakata was really going to get his father's phone for him or not. It was a lot easier to wait than to risk his luck breaking into the local precinct.

He'd been peering up at the training building when he'd heard footsteps coming up to him, and was scowling before he even knew who it was. Kamo handed him the bag that contained his father's ancient phone, a less severe scowl on his own face, and told him not to mess up any evidence.

Fushimi politely told him where to shove it and didn't stay long enough to get his reaction. He had a computer to find.

He'd entered the main building trying not to look like he was lost, but probably failed. He'd taken off down a random hallway after he made it up to the second floor and checked some rooms once he was alone. There was a room that had multiple desks and computers strewn about, but there was also a decent amount of people in there and no thank you. He recognized some of the hunters he'd taken down over the past few days, Mishi and Enji with visible wounds still present and obviously on desk duty because of it. He had no intention of running into Hayako and Tsubasa again either, so he didn't linger in the doorway too long. No other rooms stood out to him (they didn't have computers, so for the moment, they were a waste of his time) until he reached a personal office. There was a traditional looking place off to the left, tatami mats and a tea set neatly placed on the polished wood. Other than that, the flooring was back to the weird opalescent marble that covered the whole place, and modern furniture was strewn about in an empty and professional manner.

He felt like this was the captain's office.

Closing the door, he made his way over to the desk and sat down at it before he could talk himself out of it. He briefly thought about hacking into his computer to see what he could find and breaking into the only drawer to his desk that had a lock, but decided against it. It wouldn't be the last time Munakata was out of his office, after all, and he had a hunt to complete. It was short work accessing the computer's functions, and even shorter work connecting his father's little plastic and metal flip phone to its network. Once he was ready, he started tracing his father's whereabouts from ten years ago.

He remembered this phone being in Fushimi Niki's hand before he even knew what a phone was. It went everywhere his father went, like it was another limb, but he rarely ever used it. At least, around Fushimi. The times he did, well.. Fushimi had decided at a very young age to excuse himself from the room as quickly as possible when Niki got a phone call.

It was one of the only times that Fushimi remembers his father being completely, truly angry.

Shaking his head, he had settled in to wait on the outcome of his search when there was a knock on the door. He knew ignoring it wouldn't really help, but neither would saying anything, so he just settled on the former.

"Please stop hacking things," Benzai requested calmly and evenly, not a hint of exasperation in his tone despite his words. "Our network is weak enough as it is. You're attacks haven't helped."

"Get a better network, then," Fushimi huffed, finally looking away from his computer to glare at the two. "I'm not hacking anything, either. Not that it's any of your business."

"It certainly is our business!" He didn't raise his voice, but the inflection in Akiyama's tone made his voice carry across the room with confidence and authority. "You've done enough damage with computers as it is, and no one is allowed on Munakata-san's without permission!"

"I do have his permission," Fushimi lied with a sneer, holding up his father's phone. "I have a case to work, and no laptop since you idiots made me leave it at that shitty motel, so I needed a computer."

"I sincerely doubt that," Benzai replied, and Fushimi didn't have enough time to reply himself before Akiyama was continuing the man's thought like they were twins.

"Why would Munakata-san allow access to his computer to a teenage delinquent that's already remotely hacked us?"

"Because he's an idiot?" Fushimi gave them a look when they both looked ready to protest, causing Benzai to pause and Akiyama to break out into a sweat. "I know it's hard, but just think about it for a minute. He's made a lot of decisions that you don't agree with, right?"

"That hardly qualifies him as an idiot," Benzai remarked casually, placing a hand on Akiyama's shoulder. It seemed to knock the shorter hunter out of whatever thoughts he'd been having, and he was nodding along immediately. It made Fushimi click his tongue. "He simply knows what's best for a situation, even if we others don't fully understand it."

"Like his decision to give you free reign of the place," Akiyama sighed as he shook his head, damp, greenish locks tangling at the slight movement. "It's been a long time since intruders have actually been a problem, but this hasn't ever happened before. The captain saw something in you like he saw in all of us, and he's _the captain_, so it doesn't really matter if we agree with him or not."

"And doesn't that fact make it more likely that he gave me permission?" Fushimi snarked, smirking at Benzai's puzzled expression and Akiyama's distressed one.

A tense moment of silence passed before Benzai schooled his expression. "I'm going to get the captain."

"Fine by me," Fushimi lied again while groaning internally. Great, he just couldn't get away from this guy. He would just have to finish his trace sooner rather than later.

Benzai opened the door to leave, and Fushimi almost snarled out loud when he saw Munakata standing just beyond it looking as if he'd just approached it despite his hands being tucked behind his back and not at all ready to open a door. "Captain!" he exclaimed, both hunters bowing respectfully.

"What seems to be the problem, Akiyama-kun?" Munakata asked, easily stepping inside when they straightened and parted to give him room. He gave Fushimi a quick smile, not at all bothered by Fushimi being seated at his desk and using his computer without his knowledge, and it made Fushimi glare harshly at him.

"Ah, well, we came to give you our reports on that ghost case we closed in the Shiganshi District, but Fushimi Saruhiko-" Fushimi felt another snarl curl at his lip when he heard his first name, "-was here instead, and we were just about to come get you.." He trailed off when the captain was unmoved, letting out a soft hum.

"Everything's quite alright," Munakata finally said, giving them both a small nod. "I was just about to make some tea." He swept his arm towards the traditionally decorated section of the office. "Please, join me. I'm quite curious on how you defeated a ghost haunting an entire bridge."

Akiyama and Benzai both nodded, the former's cheeks heating up slightly as he looked over at Fushimi- who, despite not really caring about what was said, was trying to listen as subtly as he could. Which wasn't enough, apparently, since Akiyama had caught him looking. He turned back to the screen and ran his fingers along the keys. "Um, sir.."

"I don't think we'll bother him," Munakata almost chirped, sending a grin his way. He either missed Akiyama's point or chose not to look at it at all. Fushimi was sure it was the latter. "Right, Fushimi-kun?"

Fushimi didn't know what to say, still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Munakata truly wasn't mad that he- a hacker- was on his computer, so he just clicked his tongue again in response.

He tried not to listen to their reports, but couldn't help but be drawn into the discussion now that his program was all set up. He didn't pay attention to many specific details, instead trying to listen for clues on how this place operated. Apparently, Munakata (or someone, he wasn't one hundred percent certain) rifled through police cases- and probably used other means, as well- to determine if they involved supernaturals or not. If so, he would take the case from the civilian police, which still confused Fushimi since he'd always been under the impression that they and the government had no clue that monsters existed, and give it to a pair of hunters to continue work on it until they knew what exactly happened. Then, of course, they would go and eliminate the threat, then come back and document the events officially. Like real police officers.

Akiyama and Benzai seemed capable, if they'd went and 'killed' a ghost haunting public property without any civilians dying or learning of what they were doing. It was an important part in what they did as an organization, apparently, since no one could know about the existence of monsters or they would start a panic. Fushimi didn't really care if people knew or not; he just didn't want to be there when it happened, and personally didn't have enough faith in the average person to be able to figure it out themselves unless it was right in front of them. When that happened, they normally didn't survive.

".. and then he fell off the bridge."

Well, maybe they weren't _that_ competent.

Fushimi couldn't help but glance over at the three, catching the sight of Benzai smirking into his tea cup and Akiyama sputtering in his. Munakata's back was to him facing the pair, but Fushimi was sure that he had that stupid smile on his face as usual.

"Benzai, you know that's not what happened! I was pushed! And you were terrified! You've never yelled so loud in your life, I'm sure of it." Akiyama's face was bright red, lips pulled into a pout directed at his chuckling partner. "Yeah, you laugh now.. Anyway, the ghost knocked me off the bridge, sir. It's why we didn't report in immediately- Benzai insisted that I shower first so I didn't get sick. The water was very cold."

"I'm sure it was," Munakata replied calmly, not at all disturbed that his employee had been pushed off of a bridge into a freezing river in the middle of February. If it was the same bridge Fushimi was thinking of in Shiganshi, he'd dropped about forty feet into the water, and with how close the river was to the ocean, the current had to be incredibly strong, especially at this time of night. It was a wonder Akiyama hadn't been killed. He definitely had to be sore. "Regardless, I'm glad you are alright, Akiyama-kun. Is there anything else that happened?"

Benzai had recovered his usual expressionless attitude by the time Munakata asked this, and responded using it. "No, sir. Almost right after that happened, Kentarou-kun had finished excavating the bones, and the woman's spirit disappeared like it usually does. I immediately started searching for Akiyama with my flashlight and found him climbing up the stones of the embankment, so I rushed down there to help him get out. Other than being cold and exhausted from swimming against the current, he was fine."

"We have Kentarou-kun's report here, as well," Akiyama said, face still slightly pink, and pushed a stack of papers towards the captain. He didn't pick them up, instead appearing too interested in his tea to care. "He was similarly exhausted, since he had to dig up the grave himself because-" The hunter cut himself off, glancing over at Fushimi, who quickly looked back at the computer with a silent curse.

"Enji-kun should be back on regular duty by the end of the week," Munakata stated evenly, holding his cup out. Benzai was already moving to refill his tea, causing Fushimi to sneer for a reason he couldn't really pinpoint. "We are quite short-staffed, but it is almost graduation time."

Akiyama groaned quietly. "Sir, I don't think that's as good as you're thinking it is." Benzai elbowed him gently. "B-But you're right. More hands, even inexperienced, will be a greater help."

Fushimi couldn't hold back a snort, gaining twin glances from the two hunters. How could dead weight help more?

"Normally, I would agree with you," Munakata said, and Fushimi wondered for a moment if he'd spoken aloud before remembering Akiyama's first statement. "I'm sure you've noticed the increase in your workloads, however." Akiyama's nod was more hesitant than Benzai's; Fushimi got the impression that he tried to please his superiors more than expressing his own opinions. "This city is seeing an increase in deadly attacks. It's our job to try and quell this growing number, and we are struggling because we're spreading ourselves entirely too thin. It will do you good to have faith in your future subordinates, Akiyama-kun. They're quite promising, if I do say so myself."

Ah, so that's why he was so desperate to hire him. Fushimi tapped the shift key without pressing it, a soft _click_ sound repeating as he thought. Munakata had let him know that only five percent of hunters died every year, which honestly wasn't that bad considering the supposed volume of hunts they all went on. He had honestly been expecting worse. So hunters either quit or were permanently injured in a way Munakata felt they couldn't perform their duties anymore. Even if they weren't actively hunting, it looked like there was plenty of work to do here without hunters being a factor.

He wondered, briefly, what training they went through, but turned to the computer's screen when it let out a soft chime. He cursed loudly this time.

"Ah, is there a problem, Fushimi-kun?"

Fushimi glared harshly at the captain, who remained sipping his tea and facing away from him. Even Benzai looked uncomfortable; Akiyama was practically vibrating because he was shaking so bad. Realizing he was going to have to tell Munakata at some point (was he already thinking like he worked here?), he heaved a heavy, irritated sigh and closed his program by slamming the man's keys as hard as he could. "Fushimi Niki never went to a crossroads ten years ago, or anytime after that. So a demon had a personal vendetta against him." He lowered his voice to a murmur subconsciously. "Like that helps narrow it down at all.."

Munakata let out a thoughtful sound that wasn't necessarily a hum, but felt like it all the same. "I was wondering if that was what you were doing over there. Seems I've underestimated you, Fushimi-kun." Fushimi wished he would stop using his name every sentence, and would stop sounding like he was having the best day of his life every time he addressed him. "Nevertheless, I'm quite impressed you were able to trace the location of a phone like that so far back."

The longer the praise hung in the air between them, the more awkward it felt, so Fushimi clicked his tongue again soon after he'd said that and didn't let the silence linger long. "It's not hard. Just because everything's on a different network now doesn't mean the old one is dysfunctional."

"I'm sure for you, it isn't." Munakata finished his tea, standing once he set the cup down. He directed his attention back to his subordinates. "Go and rest, Akiyama-kun, Benzai-kun. I have another assignment for you tomorrow, so do what you must to be ready for it."

"Yes, sir," they both replied, but Benzai was the first to move to leave. Akiyama hesitated, gaze trailing between the two remaining hunters in the room before being tugged out the door by his partner.

Being in a room alone with the captain, Fushimi was starting to realize, was oppressive in an entirely different way than if it was his father. Despite his careless attitude, Fushimi found himself analyzing every move Munakata made, reassuring himself that he was scoping out the enemy when he happened to linger on the thought of it for more than a minute. Munakata, though, didn't budge where normal people would, and seemed like he would always be a step ahead of him no matter what he did. It was stifling, to say the least, with that gaze being directed at him more times than not now. It made him want to shift around like Akiyama had been just a moment ago, caused his throat to close up in a weird way that didn't take his breath away like his father did, but remained just as uncomfortable anyways.

"Did you happen to get enough rest, Fushimi-kun?"

Fushimi snorted. "What a joke. Would you be able to sleep sound here in my position?"

"The unfamiliar environment would make me uneasy if I were you, I must admit," Munakata told him, and even though he'd set him up for it, Fushimi couldn't help but narrow his eyes at how Munakata was attempting to _know_ him. "However, I hope you'll become accustomed to it."

"That's assuming I'll stay," Fushimi muttered lowly before he could stop himself.

"I understand your hesitance-"

"I don't think you do," the teen interrupted with a harsh glare, standing abruptly out of Munakata's chair. It seemed weird to be on this side of the desk, for some reason, staring the captain down from behind his own desk. He didn't linger on the feeling long. "It's not even been three days since my father died and you're already trying to screw his son out of a hunt? Thought you had more manners than that."

"I'm merely concerned that revenge will cloud your mind."

"Is that what this is all about?" he laughed. "You're _concerned_ about me and my feelings? Think I have some sort of hidden sadness about what's happened? Well, that's useless. I don't have any feelings about this, about any of it. Just trying to work a hunt that happened to fall in my lap."

Munakata just continued looking at him with that _stupid_ smile on his face. "Is that why you're crying?"

Fushimi flinched back, hand flying to his cheeks and finding out that, yes, there were tears running down his face. He instantly looked down with a click of his tongue, subconsciously trying to hide, and scrubbed his cheeks roughly to dry them.

Why the hell had he started crying? Sure, the hunt was starting to look more and more hopeless the more he worked on it, but why did that bother him? He didn't love his father at all, so it didn't matter to him if he caught this thing or not.

(It certainly wasn't because he kept thinking, _'Why? Why now? Why didn't you ever say anything? **Do I not even deserve an apology before you die?**_**'**)

There was a hand on his shoulder suddenly, and he flinched away again before he even processed the thought that it was Munakata. He refused to look up. "It's natural to mourn the death of one's father. Even yours."

_'You're wrong.'_

Fushimi knew he wasn't.

* * *

  
So, he ended up staying.

It was just convenient. The resources Munakata had access to were astounding, not to mention the dorms were marginally better than sleeping in the cold or in restaurants. He didn't have to worry about buying a laptop, or entertain the idea of getting a cell phone anymore, because when he went back to his room later that day, there was a brand new laptop and PDA waiting for him. It had unsettled him at first, but after he scoured the devices for any bugs or trackers, he was able to live with it. There were also a few uniforms in his closet, but he didn't care to try those on (though he had no doubt they would somehow fit him perfectly, and why did he decide to work for this creep again?).

His new coworkers were wary of him, but he didn't care about that either. Akiyama was still incredibly skittish around him, probably because he'd knocked out and chained up his partner. Benzai himself was treating him like everyone else, if not keeping a good distance from him. Kamo was still suspicious of him, which was no surprise, and Doumyouji (who'd started Scepter 4's training program with him, unfortunately) was acting increasingly nervous the closer he tried to get to Fushimi- and failed time and time again. He was starting to think the redhead was gaining a healthy fear of him.

Good. The other hunters had, too, Mishi being the most afraid of him. Either it was fear or mistrust, or a little of both, it didn't bother Fushimi. He was there to do a job, not make _friends_, no matter how much Munakata subtly pushed the idea.

Fushimi tapped his pen on his desk, focusing back down at the papers before him.

His ridiculous homework had been pushed to the side, finished hours ago. Training had mostly resembled schoolwork so far, but Fushimi was flying through it at a phenomenal rate. The good thing about this place instead of public school was that Munakata wasn't a total ass and let future hunters excel at their own pace. He was aware that training usually took two or three years, on average, but was confident that it wouldn't take _him_ that long.

He frowned. He was getting distracted again, but couldn't help but welcome it. It beat thinking about what was happening.

_"I'll give you some time to look over the documents. The final decision is up to you."_

For the last hour, he'd been reading over adoption papers, and because of his age- and Munakata- he had the right to refuse getting officially adopted by Munakata Reisi in the eyes of the law. Naturally, he was adverse to the idea just on principle (it had only been a few weeks since his father had been killed and he'd ended up here in the first place, and therefore only a few weeks since he'd met this man), but couldn't deny that he was an abandoned child in the eyes of the law, and even Munakata himself was bound to it. He was in a grueling training program without parental permission, which even the army and government couldn't manage, so it was only a matter of time until it caught up to them. He would wind up in the system eventually.

The thought of being with a regular, civilian family that he would have to adhere to made his hand twitch to sign his name before he stopped himself. Something still held him back, be it his subconscious self-preservation or something he couldn't comprehend yet- which wasn't out of the realm of possibility when it came to something deep and emotional (ick)- but he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

Did he really belong here?

_He didn't belong anywhere._

Fushimi's eyes strayed up to Munakata's signature, smooth lines indicating his voluntary obligation to responsibility of him. His penwork was as elegant as his 'headquarters' was, no surprise. The idea that Munakata wanted to..

No, this was just to keep him (_and Fushimi_) out of legal trouble, and it would beat hunting for free by a mile. He was thinking too much about it.

With a click of his tongue, he signed the papers.

* * *

  
"Fushimi-kun, the captain would like to speak to you," Akiyama told him. He was standing at the front of the ridiculous classroom, having just bowed and apologized for interrupting their 'lesson'. He'd already finished a few classes, along with Doumyouji (who, _ick_, was catching on surprisingly quick to what was taught) and another, slightly older teen he thinks goes by Gotou or something who talked to no one.

"Tch."

He jerked his old backpack into his lap, pulling the folded papers out and holding them towards Akiyama, despite being in the back of the class. "He wants this. Just take it to him."

Everyone but Akiyama and Doumyouji looked surprised when Fushimi casually bossed around the second in command of their stupid little organization, but he wasn't phased in the slightest by the title. "Fushimi-san," Akiyama sighed, calling him that since he found out about the adoption. "He really wants you to come to his office."

"And I really don't want to, so just take him these and go," he huffed back irritably, slumping further in his chair at the unnecessary attention.

Akiyama took a moment to think, brows furrowed and face shifting from stern superior to sympathetic to genuine confusion. "Alright, Fushimi-san," he said slowly, but at least he walked over and carefully collected the papers quickly enough, leaving even faster after an apology for the disturbance.

Class continued as normal after that, but a few looks lingered his way (including Doumyouji and Gotou). He ignored it, pulling out his PDA and opening his new gaming app. He was determined to beat his high score that he'd barely accumulated before he took the final test at the end of the day to finish this course- the only thing keeping him sane through this hell Munakata called training was the option to skip the course if you were deemed familiar enough with the material. The peace lasted about five minutes, however, before there was another knock on the door.

In walked Munakata, smile causing the skin by his eyes to wrinkle in his mirth, with Akiyama trailing behind him looking like he had just gotten scolded by his mother. "My apologies, it looks like my second in command was having trouble collecting my stubborn son."

Fushimi's head hit his desk forehead first, drowning out the sudden chaos erupting with everyone.

"That brat is the captain's son?!"

"I had no idea!"

"Why does he have a different name?"

"Fushimi-san!" Doumyouji shouted louder than everyone else- or maybe it was because he was closer, having insisted on sitting next to him in every class. It wouldn't last long, since the redhead was starting to fall a little behind in this course (seriously, who messes up with vampires? Idiots who inhaled too much media, that's who). "You didn't tell me you were-!"

Fushimi lifted his head and glared at him, stopping his words in his throat immediately with the look. Despite his growing hatred for the other teen, he was learning quicker than the course material how to read him and, more importantly, how to stop his ridiculous antics. He turned his gaze to the captain, already gathering his bag. He knew the risk of further humiliation the longer Munakata was left unchecked in the room, so he would need to acquiesce to his demands to prevent anymore destruction. "You're unbelievable, you know that?" he hissed as he walked towards the front, joining to two high ranking hunters for barely a second before he was ushering them quickly out the door and ignoring whatever the instructor had to say. "You, too, Akiyama."

"I'm so sorry, Fushimi-san," Akiyama muttered, eyes anywhere but meeting his own. "He.. has a way of extracting unwanted information from people."

"No shit," he huffed, leading the way to Munakata's office intentionally. It was bad enough they'd made so much of a scene; he wasn't going to entertain the idea of being forced into this long. "What the hell could you possibly want to talk to me about? Everything is in the papers."

"There lies the problem, Fushimi-kun," Munakata finally said, having been oddly silent since his grand entrance. "Not everything is a legal matter. Perhaps I have a job for you?"

"You and I both know that's bullshit," he scowled. "You can't send me on an official hunt until I pass your stupid training program. Did you just call me out of class to waste more of my time?"

"I thought Akiyama-kun had told you: I would like to speak with you about the adoption. Despite having difficulty retrieving you, I would think he had no trouble conveying that to you."

Akiyama flinched like he'd just been physically assaulted when he heard that, face flushing once again when Fushimi glanced at him. "I just. He's very.."

"You can say difficult," Munakata offered, grinning jovially at his direct subordinate. "Most teenagers are."

Fushimi swung the door to the captain's office open with much more force than necessary as Akiyama floundered for a response, barely waiting for Munakata to come in before shutting the door in the other hunter's face. There was no way he was having anymore of this conversation with anyone else there.

"Case in point," Munakata continued even though his audience was no longer with them. Fushimi wished he'd shut the captain out, too.

"Are you ever going to _get_ to the point?"

"Patience, Fushimi-kun," he said as he made his way over to his desk. "I haven't even sat down yet. Please." He made a sweeping motion with his hands, gesturing to the couch across from him. He wouldn't ever sit before his guest if he wasn't already sitting when they'd arrive. Fushimi briefly wondered if it had something to do with his need to always be in control. "Have a seat."

"Of course," Fushimi couldn't help but mock, rolling his eyes and plopping down on the surprisingly comfortable couch. He couldn't help but tap his foot as he waited for Munakata to sit there and look over the papers, but stopped when the noise he was creating started to become too annoying. What the hell could he even be doing anyway? He'd helped write the damn papers up, not to mention signed them, so he wasn't looking at anything he hadn't seen before.

Finally, the captain decided to speak. "I'm glad you decided to sign them. I was worried you wouldn't."

After a minute of silence, that Fushimi didn't really know what to do with, he raised an eyebrow at the older hunter and crossed his arms. "Is that it? Is that all you wanted to say?"

"I simply wanted to express my joy at your decision." Munakata grabbed the papers and folded them quickly, producing a small key from one of his many pockets. Fushimi couldn't help but watch him closely as he opened the locked drawer on his desk, carefully placing them into it before locking it and once again putting the key in his pocket (a different one than it had originally been in, Fushimi noted). "I know you're incredibly independent, but I am pleased that you can see the rationality of the situation."

"If you're just going to spout useless shit, I'm going to leave," Fushimi threatened seriously.

"I'll get to it, then. Your father's estate-"

"I don't care about that. You're my guardian now, you deal with it."

"I would still like to include you in the decisions made," he continued evenly despite being cut off. "His executor of estate and I have been in contact over the last few weeks and we've come to the agreement that his wealth should be transferred to his closest immediate family member."

"His son," Fushimi drawled, narrowing his eyes at Munakata and getting a small nod in return. "I don't want anything of his. Burn it."

"Including the mansion he owned?"

"Especially the mansion."

"I suppose it's for the best," Munakata sighed, dramatically, in Fushimi's opinion, pushing his glasses up by the bridge of his nose. "His assets could become haunted, given his violent death."

"Doubt it," he muttered to himself. He was confident that his father's soul was resting comfortably in Hell at this point, living it up as some demon's bitch. It was probably how he got his fortune in the first place.

"In any case," the older hunter continued, "it is ultimately your decision, so if you would like to demolish the mansion-"

"Burn it down-"

"-I will have that taken care of for you. There is the situation with his other assets, however."

"I told you I didn't want any of his money," Fushimi stressed, narrowing his eyes in annoyance at his _adopted father_. That would take some getting used to. "Or anything having to do with him. He's useless to me."

_'Like I was to him.'_

"Was," Munakata corrected gently. Fushimi looked at him wildly, causing the older to move on. "There is a slight issue with his will, though. It doesn't mention his wife, Fushimi Kisa, whom he'd never divorced, so she has the legal right to contest it."

"She won't," Fushimi shrugged.

"You seem so sure of that."

Fushimi heaved a sigh. He wished this useless conversation would just end. "She cares more about appearance than anything. She's probably already capitalizing on the fact that her 'husband' was 'murdered' to her clients, if she even cares enough to do that."

"Well," the older male hummed, crossing his hands atop his desk, "it sounds like the matter won't be as big of a problem as we thought."

"So I'm free to go?" Fushimi asked, already standing up to leave.

"While I have you in here-" Of course, he'd have an ulterior motive. "I have something for you." Munakata reached under his desk, producing a sword.

Well, that certainly was a surprise. "That's not for me. I can't have one until-"

"You finish your courses, you've mentioned that," the hunter finished as he rounded the desk to stand in front of Fushimi. He held the sword out for the younger to take, but all he did was look at it. "I had it rushed so it would be ready by the time you signed the papers, but I assure you it's the highest of quality."

"You're so sure I'm going to be around for graduation."

"I feel quite certain you won't run away again," he replied easily.

Fushimi let the statement linger in the air as he stared at the offering. The sword was stunning from what he could see, a blue sheath with gold accents and a handle that every hunter had, but was almost sparkling from how new it was. He had no doubt that the blade was sharp enough to slice through bone; he hadn't seen it, but he already knew that Munakata wouldn't hire someone to craft mediocre weapons for his organization.

"I've also put an order in for more of the wonderful knives you like to use," he added when Fushimi wouldn't say anything. "It took a while to find the exact ones you use, but they're surprisingly inexpensive for how efficient they are."

Fushimi snorted, finally reaching out to take the sword from him. It was heavier than he thought it would be, and took a moment to mourn having to eventually run around with this thing strapped to his hip. Goodbye, balance. "It's awfully heavy. I'd rather just have the knives."

"A gun and sword are protocol," Munakata told him, smile firmly on his face despite Fushimi's grimace at the mention of the firearm. "You'll be given a gun once you have the proper training course. Weapons classes will begin after your studies are complete. Whether or not you use it out in the field depends entirely on yourself and your competency."

"Myself and my competency, huh?" Fushimi gazed at the sword for another moment before grabbing the handle.

He jerked his hand back when the damn thing _chimed_. "What the hell?"

"My mistake," Munakata chuckled, stepping closer and gesturing to the gold. "I neglected to mention the fingerprint scanner. It prevents anyone else from stealing your weapon to use it against you."

That was actually pretty smart, considering some supernatural entities could use telekinesis. "It won't help if the sword's already unsheathed, though."

"That's where the training hopefully comes in," Munakata chuckled, then held his hand out. "Allow me."

Thinking he was going to set the sword to his fingerprint, Fushimi held the sword out for him to take, but his breath hitched when the man grabbed his wrist instead. His immediate reaction was to jerk away, and he barely started to, but Munakata was already manipulating his left hand to the handle. "Just like this, keep your fingers- here, for just a moment."

His hand remained over Fushimi's the entire time, making the younger fidget uncomfortably. He'd been trying to adjust to Munakata's weird personal space issues since he'd been there, but this was the worst that had happened. Once it chimed again, he wasted no time in finally yanking his appendage away from the captain's, holding the sword subconsciously close to his chest as he stepped back. "Will it make anymore annoying noises?"

"No."

"Great, I'll be going, then," Fushimi excused himself, rushing to the door.

"You'll need to name it," Munakata told him as he was reaching for the handle.

Was that really necessary? "What, is that protocol, too?"

Munakata's lip quirked. "More of a tradition, I'd say."

Fushimi didn't wait to respond. "I don't think that's necessary. You can deal with that, too, I don't care," and left before Munakata could say another word. The entire walk to his dorm- no way was he going back to class with a brand new sword that no one else on his tier was allowed to possess after all that had transpired- his head was swimming with the possible implications of Munakata breaking protocol for him.

_For him._

He thought about dumping the sword under his bed, but ended up propping it up against his desk, eyeing a spot on his wall that he could place holders for it to hang in the future. He told himself it was to keep it from being damaged.

It still bugged him for the remainder of the day.

* * *

  
On graduation day, after Doumyouji had made an ass of himself slinging snot and an arm around Fushimi's bony shoulders to celebrate (how the kid could afford to miss anymore classes, he didn't know, but had to guess it had something to do with his caretaker and the captain), Kamo had finally managed to pull him away with his congratulations, and Akiyama and Benzai had exhausted themselves with speeches and handshakes that, apparently, the second-in-command and leader of the special operations hunting squad were required to perform, Munakata presented him with a gun. He'd cringed, more physically than he had at the first mention of carrying it, and hesitantly accepted it without a word.

Munakata didn't say anything to him throughout the day, but Fushimi could feel the pride overflowing from the man with every action he took. While he looked over the sleek pistol, Munakata's final speech flowing through his ears like meaningless background noise, he finally, _finally_, allowed just a bit of the feeling to trickle into his chest, an odd swelling filling his chest. He didn't like it.

_(He definitely did.)_

Later, Munakata called him into his office. "I have a job for you, Fushimi-kun."

Fushimi, armed to the teeth with his new knives and standard issue Scepter 4 weapons (including Subaru, whom the older hunter had named shortly after bestowing the blade to his adopted son), clothed in the bulky but surprisingly comfortable blue uniform, pulled out his PDA and smirked in response. "What can I do for you, Captain?"

**Author's Note:**

> Lots of stuff happening. Too much happening.
> 
> I hope I conveyed Fushimi's feeling accurately and good enough. He's so hard and complicated! I didn't want to come outright and say some things, so implications are all over the place. I couldn't help but sprinkle in the S4 boys, too. They play an important part in the main story, so their backstory and how they tie to Fushimi's is imperative.
> 
> While we're on the subject, this will NOT be Doumyouji/Kamo. I'm a big fan of them, and will write more of them in the future, but not in this universe. The age difference and circumstances of their relationship doesn't work for romance. Just wanted to put that out there.
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed it!


End file.
